


Repercussions

by shallow15



Series: The Repercussions Trilogy [1]
Category: My Little Pony: Equestria Girls
Genre: Dark, Gen, Mystery, Thriller
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:34:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23632426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shallow15/pseuds/shallow15
Summary: Sunset Shimmer has been attacked and lies comatose in the hospital. All evidence points to someone who has access to magic. Led by Rarity, the rest of Sunset's friends begin to search for who did it and why.But the answers may not give them the comfort they seek. And unknown to them, Sunset is having struggles of her own.
Relationships: None
Series: The Repercussions Trilogy [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1701250
Comments: 5
Kudos: 15





	1. Clocked Out

  


**REPERCUSSIONS**

  


_An “Equestria Girls” fanfic_

_by Erin Mills_

  


“ _My Little Pony: Equestria Girls” ©2017 Hasbro/DHX Media_

  


  


  


_**I don't believe this. I just... how?! How is SHE getting all this? After everything she did, everybody she hurt, she's suddenly everybody's favorite person and she's EVERYWHERE!**_

  


_**The Battle of the Bands. The Friendship Games. Camp Everfree. And now, she gets a bit part in the new Daring Do movie? Her? The girl who lived for nothing but making everybody who crossed her miserable and ruining them any way she could?**_

  


_**Oh sure, they SAY she's changed. That she's not that girl anymore. And yeah, okay, sure, that MIGHT be true, but that doesn't matter! She's nowhere near making up for everything she did!**_

  


_**… Okay, deep breath.**_

  


_**What am I going to do about it? Everyone seems to have forgiven her these days. Plus she and her friends have those magic superpowers now. I suppose I could call the government and report them... No. Even if they believed me, the other six would probably get hauled off with her. They don't deserve that, even if they have horrible taste in friends.**_

  


_**Maybe I should just let it go. She won, like she always does. And there's nothing I can do to convince anyone else that she still deserves what she has coming to her. God, I'd just love to punch her right in her smug face--** _

  


_**What the--? Some pink flash of light outside the window.**_

  


_**It's in the backyard! Shoes... where I did I put my shoes?** _

  


_**Shoes on. Grab flashlight. Go downstairs.** _

  


_**I guess I didn't really need the flashlight. Whatever it is, it's still glowing. Looks like it's in the flowerbed. Let's see here.** _

  


_**Wait, is that...? It is! I thought I lost that pendant months ago! That's right, I was helping weed the flowers when it disappeared. It must have gotten covered over with dirt when we were cleaning up. It never glowed like that before though.**_

  


_**WHOOOOOA!** _

  


_**…** _

  


_**What happened? Ooooh, my head. I... what the hell?!** _

  


_**These aren't the clothes I was wearing before! Wait. Am I... taller? What's going on?**_

  


_**Okay, calm down. Stand up. Right.**_

  


_**Definitely taller. By about a foot. I don't think I'm hurt. Just... tingly. The hairs on my arms are standing on end. My fingernails are longer too. Purple polish on them. What?**_

  


_**Pink lighting just danced across my fingers. Hang on. The mall a few months ago. The kids at school were talking about some giant woman who was running amok destroying everything. HER and her friends were involved in that. One of them, some new girl no one had seen before, stopped her. Everyone said it was more magic.** _

  


_**Does that mean... I have magic now too? Let's see.** _

  


_**Oh, yes. Yes! Look at that! I have magic. I HAVE MAGIC!** _

  


_**And I know JUST what I'm going to do with it...** _

  


\---

  


Sunset Shimmer stretched and pushed her hands into the small of her back, being rewarded with a small pop as her spine went back in place. She let out a sigh of relief and walked back towards the back of the sushi restaurant she worked at.

  


“Koi?” she called, walking into the kitchen. “I took the garbage out and the floor's clean. Anything else?”

  


Koi Pond, the woman who ran the restaurant, looked over from where she was doing the dishes. “No, I think that's everything, Sunset. Thanks for staying late to close.”

  


“No problem. I needed the extra money.”

  


Koi nodded. “Be careful going home.”

  


“I will. I have a friend picking me up. Oh, I need to text her!”

  


Sunset walked over to the small bank of lockers where the staff kept their personal belongings. She opened one and got out her jacket, putting it on and pulling her phone out of the pocket.

  


_Hey, Rarity. I'm off work. I'll be waiting by the food court entrance to the mall._

  


She put her phone back in her pocket and punched out at the time clock. As she put her time card back in its place, her phone chirped and vibrated. Sunset pulled it out and saw Rarity's reply.

  


_Be there in ten minutes! Slight mishap here with Pinkie Pie and some bubble gum. Long story. I'll tell you on the way home._

  


Sunset smirked and texted back a quick “I want details” message and put her phone away. “Okay, Koi, I'm leaving now.”

  


“Okay. Have a good night, Sunset. Are you working tomorrow?”

  


“No, I'm off. I'm back on Friday, though.”

Koi nodded and turned back to the dishes. “See you then!”

  


“You too!”

  


Sunset left the kitchen and exited out the front of the restaurant, ducking under the half lowered security gate that covered the entrance when the mall was closed. Koi would lower it all the way and secure it when she was ready to leave. She walked through the food court towards the exit. Most of the other eateries had already closed and were dark. She could hear the echoes of the night shift cleaning crew starting their duties coming from the other end of the mall. 

  


As she reached the doors, she waved to Gold Shield, the night watchman who let everybody out of the food court exit when the mall closed. They exchanged a few pleasantries as he unlocked the doors for her, then wished her good night.

  


She pushed her way out the exit doors and stepped into the night. Behind her, Gold Shield locked the doors again, and walked away. Koi usually left by a different exit back by the parking garage, and it looked like all the other food court employees had left for the night.

  


The evenings were starting to cool off, so Sunset zipped up her jacket and put her hands in her pockets. She thought about plugging in her ear buds and listening to music while she waited for Rarity but decided against it. She sighed and looked up at the clear night sky, absentmindedly fingering the red geode pendant she wore around her neck.

  


Things were actually going pretty well for her, all things considered. She was doing great in school, she had landed a pretty decent job at Koi's restaurant, the chill in the air meant the holidays were coming. Sure, there was still the problem of random magic appearing throughout the town, but those had been few and far between, and the last major one had been Juniper Montage's rampage through the mall a couple of months ago. They still had no idea where the magic was coming from or how to stop it, but until they could get some sort of lead, the group had decided to deal with each issue as it came. 

  


Sunset smiled to herself. _Bubble gum. I know there's a story there. A good one._

  


As she amused herself imagining what sort of disaster had happened, someone spoke.

  


“You think you have everybody fooled, don't you?” 

  


Sunset blinked and she looked to her side. A woman stood there, dressed in a long black overcoat. A floppy brimmed hat obscured most of her face.

  


“I'm sorry?” Sunset asked.

  


“This whole reformed act you have going on,” the woman said. Sunset frowned. Something was off about her voice. It had an odd distortion to it. Not quite an echo, but similar. 

  


The woman began walking towards her. “You have everyone at that school convinced you've turned over a new leaf. That you aren't the selfish, evil little bitch you used to be.”

  


Sunset's frown turned into a full expression of anger. “I don't know who you are, but I do know that you don't know me.”

  


The woman chuckled. “Oh, I know you, Sunset Shimmer. I know EXACTLY who you are. You're a mean, petty, vindictive little snot who's managed to con everyone into thinking you're something you're not. You may have all of them fooled, but not me. And I'm here to give you EXACTLY what you deserve!”

  


The woman thrust out her hand, and a bolt of pink lightning shot from her fingertips. Sunset yelped and dove to the side as the lightning struck the sidewalk where she had been standing. She quickly scrabbled to her feet and began running. Behind her, she heard the woman giving chase.

  


_Need to find Gold Shield,_ Sunset thought. Most of the other mall entrances would be locked. But if she could get around to the far side of the mall, where the parking garage was, she'd be able to get help. 

  


Another bolt of lightning zipped past her, impacting right in front of her, sending up small pebbles of sidewalk in front of her. Sunset skidded to a halt and looked behind her. The woman was gaining and raising her hand to throw another bolt. Sunset threw herself to the ground. The bolt passed over her and smashed against the wall, leaving a huge scorch mark. The woman screamed in rage, giving Sunset a chance to get to her feet and resume running.

  


“GET BACK HERE!” Another bolt shot through the air, barely missing Sunset. She forced her legs to move faster, trying to put more distance between her and her pursuer.

  


_I don't know what I did, but she's definitely not happy about it!_

  


Sunset rounded the corner of the mall, another bolt shooting by as she cleared the turn. Sunset's lungs began to burn as her pace began to catch up with her. She forced herself to take a deep breath and redoubled her efforts. She blinked and realized there was a gap in the wall ahead of her. 

  


_The maitenance corridors! There's always somebody at the office there!_

  


Sunset allowed herself to grin as she reached the small alleyway that led to the entrance to the corridors reserved for mall employees. More importantly, those corridors were where the security and custodial offices were located. 

  


_If I can make it there, I can get help and-- CRAP!_

  


Sunset skidded to a halt as a shadow passed over her, and the woman landed on her feet in front of her, blocking her only way to the corridor entrance. The woman's lips were curled into a sneer of frustration and anger.

  


“Nowhere to run,” she snarled. “And none of those 'friends' you hoodwinked into liking you around to help. Or are they actually as rotten as you are? Misery loves company, after all.”

  


Sunset's own expression hardened. She felt her fear turn to red hot anger. She could take it when someone wanted to call her out on who she used to be, but to even imply that her friends were just as bad as she used to be pushed every button she had.

  


“You don't know them,” Sunset said quietly, teeth clenched.

  


“I know they either have poor judgement or they aren't the paragons of virtue they pretend to be. As a matter of fact, didn't the one with the glasses nearly destroy that school of yours a few months ago? Seems to show why you hang around with her, doesn't it?”

  


Sunset screamed and threw herself towards the woman. She collided headlong into her, causing the two of them to fall to the ground and roll down the alley. As they rolled, the woman's hat flew away. They came to a stop with the woman on top of Sunset, pinning her to the ground by her shoulders.

  


“Gotcha,” she hissed.

  


“What did I do to you? Why are you doing this?” Sunset demanded, trying to free herself. The woman's grip was iron, keeping Sunset down no matter how she struggled. Sunset felt her phone vibrating in her pocket, but naturally had other concerns.

  


“You really don't know?” the woman asked. “You don't recognize me? Did it really change me that much?”

  


“I've never seen you before in my life!” Sunset bent her knees and placed her feet flat on the ground. She managed to get one hand up, intending to brace herself and use her knees to throw the woman off of her. But when her hand hit the woman's arm, the geode around her neck flashed red. Images and memories flooded her brain.

  


It only lasted a split second, but it was a bright enough flash to dazzle the woman, who let Sunset go and covered her eyes with her other arm. She broke contact with the teenager and got to her feet. She glared down at Sunset, who sat up and stared at her, fear and regret in her eyes.

  


“It's you,” Sunset whispered. “I didn't... I wanted...”

  


“Shut up,” the woman said coldly. 

  


Sunset felt tears start to form in the corners of her eyes. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry!”

  


The woman straightened her coat and glowered down at Sunset. Now that she knew who it was, Sunset could recognize her, despite the changes that had happened. She looked down from the woman's face and her eyes widened at the glowing pink pendant that hung from the woman's neck. The light was too bright for her to make out the shape. She looked back up.

  


“Where—Where did you get that?” she asked.

  


The woman's eyes flashed. She raised a hand, pink lightning crackling dangerously around her fingers. “I said... SHUT! UP!”

  


The lightning exploded into a blinding flash. Sunset closed her eyes and waited for the blow.

  


_I deserve this._

  


_\---_

  


Rarity pulled her car up to the curb outside the food court entrance. She looked around, but didn't see Sunset anywhere. She frowned, got out her phone and dialed Sunset's number.

  


“Hi, this is Sunset Shimmer. Leave a message!”

  


Rarity hung up. “Where on earth has that girl gone?”

  


She turned the engine off and got out of the car. 

  


“Sunset?” she called. “Sunset, are you here?”

  


Rarity walked up to the doors, but found them locked. She put her hands on her hips and turned around, annoyance evident on her face. Her foot kicked a rock, which bounced away. Rarity looked down to see what her foot had hit, and her expression changed to puzzlement. 

  


There was a hole in the concrete sidewalk. It was jagged and scorched around the edges, and small chunks of concrete peppered the area surrounding it. Rarity's frown returned and she looked around the area. She saw another scorch mark on the wall further away. She walked over and put a hand on it. It was warm to the touch and she thought she smelled ozone. 

  


“Sunset! It's Rarity! Where are you?”

  


Suddenly an explosion of pink light appeared above the mall. Rarity put her hands over her ears as a massive roll of thunder sounded a split second later. When it passed, she opened her eyes and put her hands down.

  


_That was magic. A lot of it. Sunset!_

  


Rarity dashed around the corner of the mall, trying to locate where the light had come from. It didn't take her long. Smoke drifted from the alleyway. Rarity entered the alley and stopped when she saw the body lying on the ground. She tooka few tentative steps forward, then broke into a run when she saw the red-gold hair. 

  


She skidded to a stop and got down on her knees, hoisting Sunset up. 

  


“Sunset? Sunset! Come on, darling, wake up!” Rarity lightly slapped Sunset's cheeks, trying to get her eyes to open. Sunset didn't respond. Her uniform was singed and torn in several places. Blood trickled from small scratches on her face. Rarity frantically put two fingers to Sunset's throat and let out a sigh of relief when she felt a faint pulse. 

  


She was fumbling for her phone, while still trying to keep hold of Sunset when the door leading to the utility corridors opened, revealing Gold Shield. Rarity looked up at him.

  


“Help me! She's hurt!”

  


Gold Shield quickly pulled out his own phone and dialed 911. “This is Gold Shield at the Crystal Hills Mall. I need an ambulance here now. Victim is a teenage girl. Multiple lacerations, maybe worse. She's currently unconscious and non-responsive. Right. Thank you.”

  


Gold Shield put his phone away and kneeled down next to Rarity. “The EMTs are on their way. What happened?”

  


Rarity shook her head. “I have no idea. I just arrived to pick Sunset up from work. There was this explosion of pink light and I followed it here and... found her.”

  


Rarity pulled Sunset closer. _Stay with us, Sunset. Please._

  


_\---_


	2. Emergency Planning

Rarity had been pacing in the waiting area of the emergency room for 45 minutes when the others arrived. Rainbow Dash was the first to barge through the doors, naturally.

  


“Where is she?” she loudly demanded. “Is she all right? What happened?”

  


“Lower your voice!” Rarity hissed. “This is still a hospital, Rainbow Dash!”

  


“Sorry,” Rainbow replied. 

  


“Have you heard anything?” asked Twilight Sparkle.

  


“No. But she went in almost immediately after we arrived. I've been trying to get some answers,” She glared over at the admissions desk. “But they won't tell me anything since I'm not a family member.”

  


“Well, we've gotta find out somehow!” Rainbow said. “I seriously doubt they're going to believe her parents are a pair of magical talking ponies from another dimension.”

  


“Don't think it matters anyway,” Applejack said. “A while back, Sunset mentioned her parents passed away about a year before she came through the portal. Dunno if she's got any other relatives.”

  


“What do we do then?” Rainbow started pacing herself. Her voice started rising in volume as she moved. “We can't get any info because we're not related to Sunset, but Sunset doesn't have any relatives in this world. So basically, our friend is back there, hurt bad, and we can't find out how she is because the jerks here won't tell us anything! This sucks!”

  


A loud “Shhh!” came from the rest of the group. Rarity, Twilight, and Applejack looked over and smiled at the nurse manning the admitting desk, who was giving them a disapproving look.

  


“Sorry!” Twilight said, smiling awkwardly. “She's just worried. She didn't mean it.”

  


“Don't apologize for me!” Rainbow snapped. “I meant what I—MMMPH!”

  


“Come on, Rainbow,” Applejack said, keeping her hand over Rainbow's mouth and dragging her away from the group. “Let's get you a soda.” 

  


Rainbow's muffled protests drifted away as Applejack hauled her toward the vending machines. The other four girls looked at each other. Fluttershy blinked.

  


“Oh! What about Miss Bookbinder?” she asked.

  


“Sunset's landlady?” Twilight said. “What about her?”

  


“Sunset probably knew something like this could happen to her, especially after the Fall Formal. So maybe she has Miss Bookbinder as her emergency contact.”

  


“Maybe,” Rarity murmured. “It's worth a try, I suppose. Does anyone have her number?”

  


The group turned as one to face Pinkie Pie, who had remained surprisingly quiet through all this.

  


“What?” she asked. “Ooohhhh! You think I might have her phone number because I know everybody in town and my contact list on my phone is, like, fifty gazillion times bigger than anyone else's at school so I could probably have Miss Bookbinder on it, right?”

  


“Something like that,” Twilight answered. 

  


Pinkie pulled out her phone and scrolled down her list. “Baked Bads... Big Bopper... Blackberry Brambles... Bluesharp Babysplit... Ah ha! Miss Bookbinder!” She hit the “call” icon on the screen and held it up to her ear.

  


“Hello? Miss Bookbinder?” Pinkie took a deep breath and screamed into the phone. “SUNSET'S HURT AND WE'RE AT THE HOSPITAL AND NOBODY WILL TELL US ANYTHING AND WE'RE ALL KIND OF FREAKING OUT OVER HERE SO CAN YOU COME HERE AND TELL THEM TO TELL US WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER?!”

  


“PINKIE!” 

  


Twilight slapped a hand over Pinkie's mouth, while Rarity snatched the phone from her hand. She motioned for Fluttershy and Twilight to take Pinkie over to the vending machines with Applejack and Rainbow Dash. She grimaced at the other people in the waiting area, who were glaring at them for the disturbance. Rarity let out a half-hearted laugh, then quickly turned her back and put the phone up to her ear.

  


“Hello? Miss Bookbinder?”

  


“I sincerely hope that you have a good explanation for why I nearly suffered permanent hearing loss just now,” came the voice of the landlady. 

  


Rarity winced. Miss Bookbinder (and heaven help you if you left out the “Miss”) was polite and always treated the girls well whenever they went to visit Sunset, but she did not suffer fools gladly. Pinkie and Rainbow had often been the targets of Miss Bookbinder's unparalled mastery of withering scorn and sarcasm. 

  


“Yes, I'm sorry about that, Miss Bookbinder,” Rarity apologized.

  


“I would also be very interested to know how Miss Pie got my number,” Miss Bookbinder continued.

  


Rarity gulped. Whenever Miss Bookbinder started referring to one of them as “Miss,” that meant they had seriously irritated her. But what had happened to Sunset was the priority, not the usual little tiffs that happened whenever Pinkie's Pinkiness clashed with Miss Bookbinder's more serious minded personality.

  


“Pinkie Pie has everyone's number,” she quickly explained. “But that's not important right now. We're at the hospital, Miss Bookbinder. Sunset's hurt.”

  


There was a silence, then: “What happened?”

  


Rarity quickly explained what she had seen at the mall. “And, because none of us are related to Sunset, and her family is... unavailable, we were hoping that perhaps she had made arrangements with you to be her emergency contact for things like this.”

  


Another silence. Rarity felt her teeth clench, and her free hand began playing with the hem of her skirt. _Please. Please let us be right._

  


“I'll be there in a few minutes,” The landlady's voice had softened. “Try to keep those friends of yours calm until I get there. I know a few people at the hospital. I may be able to wheedle some information out of them.”

  


Rarity let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. “Thank you! Thank you so much, Miss Bookbinder.”

  


“I'll be there soon.” 

  


There was a beep as the landlady ended the call. Rarity sighed again, and headed for the vending machines to find the others.

  


\---

  


“She's an emancipated minor and estranged from her family. As you can see from this,” Miss Bookbinder slapped a piece of paper on the admitting desk. “This is a written permission slip from Miss Shimmer allowing you to disclose information about any emergency medical situation she has to me, and for me to make treatment decisions in the event she is unable to do so herself. You will also see that it has been properly notarized and dated. Perfectly legal and above board.”

  


Miss Bookbinder adjusted her oval-framed glasses. “Now, with all this clearly evident even to a bureaucratic cephalopod like yourself, will you concede that your behind is sufficently covered and either kindly provide me with the latest information on Miss Shimmer's condition, or, failing that, find me the attending physician so he or she can do so? Or do I have to explain this all again to the hospital administrator, in a much less polite fashion?”

  


The nurse at the admitting desk looked from the permission slip up to the landlady. The yellow skinned woman wasn't that tall, but radiated an aura of no-nonsense efficency, enhanced by her green hair pulled back into a severe bun. Miss Bookbinder wasn't much older than Rarity and her friends, but she seemed older thanks to her mode of dress and personality.

  


“Um... I'll get Doctor Cross,” he said, getting up and disappearing through the doors. Miss Bookbinder turned around, facing the girls, then folded her arms and gave them a confident smirk.

  


Pinkie leaned over in her chair. “She's scaaaaaary,” she whispered. The others nodded frantically.

  


A few minutes later, the doctor came out. “Miss Bookbinder?”

  


Miss Bookbinder stood up and motioned for the girls to follow her. The doctor quirked an eyebrow.

  


“I'm Dr. Cross,” the doctor said. “I understand you're Miss Shimmer's legal guardian?”

  


“Not quite,” Miss Bookbinder answered, “But it's close enough, legally speaking.”

  


“I see,” Dr. Cross looked at the girls. Miss Bookbinder saw his expression.

  


“These are Sunset's best friends. Anything you have to say to me, you can say to them.”

  


“Very well,” Dr. Cross cleared his throat and looked at the clipboard he was holding. “I'm afraid it's a mixed bag. First off, she's stable.”

  


“'Dead' is stable,” Rainbow snapped. Miss Bookbinder glared at her.

  


“Not helping, Miss Dash.” 

  


“Well, fortunately,” the doctor said, “That isn't the sort of stable we're talking about. She's not in danger of dying and physically, aside from some cuts and bruises, she's fine.”

  


“But?” Applejack asked, flatly.

  


Dr. Cross sighed. “Miss Shimmer is comatose. We still need to do an MRI to confirm, but there doesn't appear to be any brain damage. But she is completely non-responsive to external stimuli. And to be perfectly honest, we have no idea why.”

  


The girls exchanged nervous glances. Miss Bookbinder remained focused on the doctor.

  


“So what do you recommend?” she asked.

  


Dr. Cross took her arm. “Let's go over here and discuss it.”

  


As the doctor and the landlady walked away from the group, they clustered around each other.

  


“Magic,” Applejack said. “It has to be magic. Ain't no other explanation.”

  


“Agreed,” said Twilight. 

  


“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow said. “But what are we gonna DO about it?”

  


Rarity looked up. “We're going to find whoever did this.”

  


The others looked at her. 

  


“Are you sure that's a good idea?” Twilight asked. 

  


“Of course it's a good idea!” Rainbow said. “What the hell, Twilight?”

  


Twilight frowned. “That's not what I meant and you know it, Rainbow. What I mean is, if this is someone else who's been corrupted by the magic, are we sure we want to pick a fight with them? All the other times we've encountered someone with magical abilities, we've all been together.”

  


“Except for Juniper,” Fluttershy said. “Starlight managed to talk her into giving up the magic.”

  


“Yes, but even then, Juniper didn't become fully corrupted until all seven of us were trapped in the mirror.” Twilight replied. “Before that, the magic was limited just to the mirror itself. Otherwise, with Gloriosa we were all together. And then you all fought the Dazzlings and Sunset herself together with the help of Princess Twilight.”

  


“I see what you're sayin'” Applejack said. “We generally don't whomp the bad guy until all of us are workin' together. Back at camp, the five of us had a hell of a time just tryin' to keep Gloriosa occupied so she didn't hurt anybody else. But she kept countering everything we did as soon as we did it, until Twilight and Sunset got there.”

  


“From what I've been able to gather from Sunset,” said Twilight, “the magic is at its most powerful when the seven of us are in harmony. But with Sunset comatose...”

  


“... we might not be able to beat whoever did this to her,” Fluttershy finished.

  


“Well, we just can't sit around and not do anything!” Pinkie exclaimed. “There's some big meanie out there with magic and Sunset sure wouldn't want them out there where they could do it again. She would say--” Pinkie smoothed her hands through her hair, which instantly reformed into the shape of Sunset's hairstyle, somehow complete with lighter streaks of pink mimicking the gold streaks in her hair. 

  


“-- Other people could get hurt, and it's our responsibility to make sure that doesn't happen.” Pinkie finished in an eerily similar voice as Sunset's own. She shook her head, restoring her hair to it's normal cotton candy explosion. The group stared wide-eyed at her for a moment, before Rarity spoke up.

  


“That settles it then. Danger or not, we are not going to let whoever did this to our friend get away with it. We are going to find them, and when we do, we will make sure they undo whatever they did to Sunset.”

  


“Right now?” Fluttershy asked, looking at a nearby clock. “It's almost midnight.”

  


“All right, first thing in the morning, then,” said Rarity. “We'll meet at 8 at Sugarcube Corner. Agreed?”

  


There were murmurs of assent. 

  


“Oh, wait! What about Ray?” Fluttershy asked, referring to Sunset's pet gecko. “He's all alone and is going to be worried about Sunset.”

  


“No problem!” Pinkie chirped. She reached into her hair and pulled out a keychain loaded down with dozens of keys. “I've got a key to Sunset's apartment!”

  


Twilight looked at Pinkie. “How did you get that?”

  


Pinkie shrugged. “Just happened. I have keys to all your houses too!”

  


“Why would you-- Never mind, I really get the feeling I don't wanna know,” said Rainbow.

  


“All right,” Rarity said. “Fluttershy, you and Pinkie go over to Sunset's place tomorrow morning and make sure Ray's taken care of.”

  


“Might be a good idea to see if you can find the journal she uses to talk to Princess Twilight too,” Applejack said. “Her and Starlight will probably want to know what happened.”

  


Rarity nodded. “If you do find it, bring it to Sugarcube Corner with you. We can figure out what to tell them. But, I think we should make it clear that they should stay in Equestria, unless we ask them to come through. In the meantime, we can send any sort of magical evidence we find to Princess Twilight and get her opinion. She may be able to give us some insight.”

  


“All right!” Rainbow cheered. “We have a plan, and we're totally gonna kick this guy's sorry butt. They're gonna regret ever doing this to one of our friends!”

  


Rarity gave a small smile at her friend's enthusiasm. She put her hand out.

  


“8 AM tomorrow,” she said. “For Sunset.”

  


The others placed their hands on top of hers.

  


“For Sunset,” they chorused.


	3. Mind Games I

She was nowhere. A formless void that was completely featureless.

  


It reminded her of being inside Juniper Montage's mirror, except it wasn't quite a blank white expanse. It was hard to figure out exactly what color everything was. One second it was white, but then it seemed blue, or pink or something. After a while, Sunset stopped trying to figure out what it looked like, and also tried to not think too much about what exactly she was standing on.

  


Sunset decided to look down at herself. Instead of her waitress uniform, she was wearing her usual jeans and blue top, along with her black denim jacket with the orange chevrons on the sleeves. 

  


“Okay,” she thought. Then stopped, frowning.

  


“Hello?” she thought again. But this time she realized that she wasn't hearing the voice in her head. Her mouth had moved as she thought the words. 

  


“Okay, this is kinda weird.”

  


“ _Oh, for crying out loud. Haven't you figured it out yet?_ ”

  


Sunset spun aroudn sharply, looking for the voice that had come from behind her. She didn't see anyone, but her eyes widened as she saw the large ornate mirror that was there. It was almost seven feet tall and mounted in a frame that was gold on the left and silver on the right. She walked closer to the mirror, watching as her reflection grew as she approached.

  


Except something was wrong. The reflection was off. The clothes hung differently.

  


“No,” she said. “They're not hanging differently. They're _different._ ”

  


“Finally, she starts to get it!” said her reflection. Sunset gawped as she reached the mirror. Her reflection was dressed in her old outfit: Leather jacket, orange skirt, magenta shirt with her cutie mark symbol on the front. Her hair seemed different too. The red and gold were bolder, almost luminescent.

  


“This is impossible,” Sunset said. Her reflection folded her arms and gave her a look she knew all too well: the confident sneer she used when she had someone exactly where she wanted them.

  


“Well, duh,” said the reflection. “Come on, you're supposed to be so smart. You're reflection is talking to you and your internal thoughts are getting verbalized. What's the logical conclusion?”

  


Sunset frowned. “I'm dreaming.”

  


“Ding-ding-ding!” crowed her reflection. “Finally. Although, it's not quite that simple.”

  


“You want to stop being cryptic and tell me what the hell is going on?” Sunset snapped, folding her own arms.

  


“Well, let's recap. You got attacked after work by a seven foot tall woman who shot lightning from her fingertips. And thanks to the geode, you got a glimpse inside her mind and lo and behold--”

  


“Shut up!” Sunset snarled. “I know what I saw!”

  


Her reflection grinned. “So... where are you?”

  


“My own mind. I'm asleep. But since I know I'm asleep, I should be able to wake myself up.”

Sunset closed her eyes and concentrated. She clenched her fists and bit her bottom lip as she tried to break out of the dream. After a few moments she relaxed and glared at her reflection.

  


“Why can't I wake up?”

  


Her reflection looked at its nails. “You aren't just asleep, SunShim. You're in a coma.”

  


“A coma,” Sunset said flatly.

  


“Yep, in the outside world, you're completely non-responsive.” The reflection grinned. “And probably on the business end of a catheter too. Fun.”

  


Sunset let out a noise of disgust. “I don't have time for this. I need to find a way to wake up.”

  


She turned to leave, but a firm grip grabbed her arm. Sunset turned her head and gaped as her reflection stepped out of the mirror. The reflection was grinning evilly.

  


“Oh no no, Sunny,” it said. “You don't get to walk away from me this time.”

  


Sunset pulled her arm free. “I don't even know what the hell you are.”

  


The reflection quirked an eyebrow. “Really?”

  


“Yeah, really.”

  


The reflection sighed. “The jolt must have scrambled your brain. Either that or hanging out with those six bimbos has caused it to rot.”

  


Sunset's frown deepened. “They're not bimbos.”

  


“Really?” The reflection's grin sharpened. “That's not what you thought about them just over a year ago. Let's refresh your memory, shall we?”

  


The reflection gestured at the mirror. An image of Rarity appeared, looking flustered. After a moment, Sunset heard her voice echoing around them.

  


_You seriously thought I'd PAY for a dress that looks like an albatross crapped out a wedding cake? I came to you because everybody said you were the best, Rarity. Instead, I get this. Of course, it must be hard to pay attention to what you're doing with your nose so far in the air._

  


There was a hideous sound of cloth ripping and Rarity caught the remains of an elegant and intricately sewn white evening dress. She looked at the dress, then up, then back at the dress. Sunset winced as she saw the tears forming in her friend's eyes. Then the voice returned.

  


_That's right. Start crying. Declare your life over and go eat a few cartons of ice cream. I'm sure that won't affect your self worth at all, you vapid wannabe preppy._

  


“How DARE you?!” Rarity snapped. Her face contorting into an expression of anger. 

  


_Oh, save it. I know your family isn't anywhere near as fancy as you like to pretend. Face facts, you're nothing but a sad, pathetic redneck who pretends she's not the backwoods trailer trash that EVERYONE knows she is! And you have lousy taste in clothes._

  


Rarity burst into tears, and Sunset felt sick as she heard her own mocking laughter echoing around her. 

  


“Stop it,” she hissed to her reflection. “I'm not that person anymore! I apologized to her for that!”

  


“Doesn't matter if there isn't any forgivness for it,” the reflection said. 

  


“She forgave me!” 

  


The reflection grinned again. “Are you sure she meant it?”

  


Sunset growled deep in the back of her throat. “I don't have time for this.”

  


She began to stalk away, leaving her reflection behind. She stopped suddenly when her reflection appeared in front of her.

  


“I told you,” it said. The reflection shot out a fist, hitting Sunset right in the sternum. Sunset let our a cry of surprise as she flew backwards through the air. Her cry was cut off as she landed solidly in a chair. Clamps in the arms and legs snapped shut around her wrists and ankles. The chair spun rapidly, causing Sunset's vision to blur.

  


When it came to a halt, she was facing the mirror again. Her reflection leaned up against it, one arm bracing herself, her feet crossed in a casual pose.

  


“You don't get to walk away from me this time,” it finished. “We've got a lot of old ground to tread, you and I.”

  


Sunset struggled against her bonds, but the clamps were immobile. “Let me out! They need me!”

  


The reflection laughed. The same cold, mocking laugh Sunset had used in the past. “No, no, no. I don't think so.”

  


The reflection walked over and leaned down so she was face to face with Sunset. It grinned again, only this time the mouth was full of razor sharp teeth. Sunset looked up from the teeth and inhaled sharply when she saw the reflections eyes.

  


Pitch black eyes with ice blue irises. Her demon self's eyes. Sunset swallowed as she felt fear travel up her spine. The reflection laughed again as she saw Sunset's reaction.

  


“That's right, Sunset. We're just getting started.”


	4. Mysterious Missives & Coffee Conundrums

Pinkie unlocked the door of Sunset's aparment, admitting herself and Fluttershy. “Hey, Ray! We're heeere!” she cried. 

  


“Um, Pinkie, it's still 7:30 in the morning. Maybe we should keep it down in case some of the neighbors are still sleeping.”

  


“Oh, right! Gotcha,” Pinkie stage-whispered. She followed Fluttershy into the apartment and slammed the door shut behind them. Fluttershy winced, then sighed and climbed the stairs leading to the loft which acted as Sunset's bedroom. 

  


“Can you see if you can find Sunset's Equestria journal? I'll check on Ray,” she said.

  


“Yes, sir, ma'am, sir!” Pinkie saluted and walked under the loft to Sunset's desk. She began looking around at the assorted books and papers scattered across the desk. Meanwhile, Fluttershy reached the top of the stairs and crouched down in front of the tank. Ray, Sunset's pet leopard gecko, loped towards the glass. Fluttershy smiled down at him.

  


“Hi, Ray. Sunset's not going to be able to come home for a little while, so I'm going to be taking care of you until she's back, okay?”

  


Ray let out a hiss. Fluttershy looked pained.

  


“Well, she... she's been hurt. She's in the hospital and she won't wake up. We don't know what happened, but we're working on it.”

  


Ray lowered his head and looked dejected. Fluttershy removed the lid of the tank and reached in, rubbing the top of the gecko's head. Ray craned his head up to meet Fluttershy's fingers.

  


“I know. I miss her already too,” Fluttershy said. “We're going to find out who did it. I promise.”

  


Ray looked up at her and his mouth curled up into a lizard equivalent of a smile. Fluttershy smiled back. 

  


“Now, how about a nice cricket for breakfast?”

  


While Fluttershy fed Ray, Pinkie continued pawing through Sunset's desk, humming to herself.

She opened the bottom desk drawer and let out a squee as she found the large book with the hybrid sun-star symbol on the cover. She pulled the journal out and held it up.

  


“Found it!”

  


“Oh good,” Fluttershy's voice drifted down from above. “We'll be able to let Princess Twilight know what's going on.”

  


“On it!” Pinkie chirped. She reached into her hair and extracted a pen.

  


“Um, Pinkie?” Fluttershy said, coming back down the stairs. “Maybe we should wait until we get to Sugarcube Corner before we write Princess Twilight? We don't want to panic her, right?”

  


“Good point!” Pinkie opened her backpack and put the journal inside. As she slung her backpack over her shoulder,, she looked down into the drawer. “There's another book in here!”

  


“Is it her old journal?” Fluttershy asked, walking up behind Pinkie.

  


“Nope! Looks like a scrapbook.” Pinkie reached in and pulled out the book. It was a basic composition notebook, but every page looked tyo have an envelope or letter sticking out of it. Pinkie put it on the desk and flipped it open.

  


“I don't think we should do that,” Fluttershy said. “That's probably Sunset's personal scrapbook. I'm sure she would have told us about it if she wanted us to look at it.”

  


Pinkie didn't respond. Fluttershy put a hand on her shoulder. 

  


“Pinkie?”

  


“I think she had another reason for not showing us this,” Pinkie said, quietly. The subdued tone of her friend's voice made Fluttershy swallow hard. She moved next to Pinkie and looked down at the scrapbook.

  


The book was open to a printout of an email. 

  


**To:**[ **S_Shimmer@CanterlotHS.edu**](mailto:S_Shimmer@CanterlotHS.edu)

**From:**[ **DieDemonWitch@HayMail.com**](mailto:DieDemonWitch@HayMail.com)

**Subject: ROT IN HELL!**

  


**HEY, DEMON BITCH, YOU CAN PRETEND ALL YOU WANT THAT YOU'VE CHANGED, BUT I KNOW YOU HAVEN'T! IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW MUCH MAGIC YOU'VE GOT, OR WHAT YOU DO TO TRY TO GET EVERYONE ON YOUR SIDE, YOU'LL ALWAYS BE A SELFISH HEARTLESS FRIENDLESS SLUT!!! I HOPE YOU GET HIT BY A BUS AND DIE!**

  


“Oh my,” Fluttershy squeaked. “That's... wow.” She turned the page

\

**I hate you, Sunset Shimmer. Ever since you came to town, everything has gone straight to hell and you're the bitch holding the pitchfork. If I wasn't committed to non-violence, you would have been on the receiving end of a baseball bat by now. And don't go bringing up what's happened with the Dazzlings. Odds are you just couldn't stand having any kind of competition. In fact, if you hadn't ever come here, the weird things that follow you wouldn't be bothering the rest of us! Do us all a favor and drop dead!**

  


Pinkie flipped through the book. “The next one's worse! And this one... and this one... and this one... and this--” She stopped and stared wide eyed at the page she had stopped on. “I don't even think that's physically possible!”

  


Fluttershy looked down at the page and turned bright red. “That's... oh... geez... I... Wait.” She put her finger on the page. “This is dated just last week! How far back does this go?”

  


Pinkie flipped the book closed and re-opened the cover. “Looks like she started saving these after the Battle of the Bands.”

  


“Who knows how many of these she's gotten before then? And she never told us.” Fluttershy paged through the scrapbook again. “These are all from different email addresses.”

  


“There's some regular letters too,” Pinkie pointed out. “She kept the envelopes.”

  


Pinkie looked at Fluttershy, tears forming in the corner of her eyes. “Why would anybody do this? Sunset's been nothing but kind, and helpful, and friendly ever since the Fall Formal. I thought everyone knew that! Why would they send mean things like this to her?”

  


“I don't know,” Fluttershy answered. “But she was saving these for a reason, and we should probably find out what it is.”

  


Fluttershy closed the scrapbook and put it in her own backpack. She looked at Pinkie with a grim expression. “Because we just found an entire book full of suspects who want to hurt Sunset.”

  


**\---**

  


“This is absolutely disgusting!” Rarity said, tossing the scrapbook on the table. 

  


“It's bullshit is what it is,” Rainbow replied.

  


“RAINBOW DASH!” cried Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Rainbow leaned forward in her chair.

  


“What?! It is, and you all know it! Sunset's done more to make up for who she used to be than she has to. Why would anybody believe she hasn't changed?”

  


“Anon-A-Miss,” Applejack said quietly. There was an awkward silence as five of the six girls looked at each other.

  


“'Anon-A-Miss?'” Twilight asked. 

  


“It's a long story,” Rainbow answered, a sheepish expression on her face. “But it wasn't exactly one of our prouder moments.”

“Ah-ha,” said Twilight. She decided not to press the issue, leaned forward and picked up the scrapbook. She began paging through the entries, a frown crossing her features. 

  


“Twilight, are you sure you want to read those?” Fluttershy asked. “Some of them get really, um, graphic.”

  


“I'm not reading them,” Twilight said absently. 

  


“Well, forgive me for asking, darling,” asked Rarity. “But why would you want to look at those horrid things again?”

  


Twilight didn't answer. She adjusted her glasses, reached into her backpack, pulled out a notepad and pen, and began making notes.

  


“Oookay, then,” Rainbow said, ignoring Twilight for the moment. “So, we know there's a whole bookload of people who have it in for Sunset. How do we narrow it down to whoever did it so we can whomp their sorry butts?”

  


“Problem is, it could be that none of the varmints who've been harrassin' Sunset were the one who attacked her,” said Applejack. “We don't know for sure.”

  


“We don't know one of them DIDN'T do it, either!”

  


Rarity let out an aggravated sigh. “Even if none of them did do it, the fact that there are such petty, immature, small-minded, mentally incompetent-- GAH! I need a cinnamon roll!”

  


The fashionista got up from her seat and stalked over to the counter. 

  


“Oh! Oh! Get me a lemon bar, please!” Pinkie called after her.

  


“She saved the headers!” Twilight crowed.

  


The group turned to look at her, Rarity looking back fron where she stood. Twilight blushed and let out an embarassed laugh.

  


“Um... sorry. What I mean is Sunset saved the headers from her emails. I think I may be able to use them to see where they came from. And if the IP addresses match from email to email, that means they were sent from the same location. We can narrow it down!”

  


“You wanna run that by us again in English, sugarcube?” Applejack asked.

  


“Sometimes, in cases like this – not all of them – what looks like multiple people can, in fact, be the work of one person creating a bunch of fake email and social media accounts.” Twilight began paging back through the scrapbook. “If the IP addresses in these headers match, it means that those two accounts originated from the same location. And if that happened, then it's likely that the same person sent them. We eliminate all the duplicates and we have a narrower suspect pool.”

  


“That's... actually a good idea,” Rainbow said.

  


“You think you can figure all that out, Twi?” Applejack asked. “Seems like a pretty hefty job.”

  


“Well, I won't be able to work on it in earnest until after school, but I should be able to take out a pretty big chunk of them by tomorrow.”

  


“All right, Twilight darling, we'll leave that to you,” Rarity said, returning from the counter. She handed Pinkie the lemon bar she asked for. “As for the rest of us, we need to keep our ears open at school for anything that could help us find the miscreant.”

  


“I may already have,” Twilight said. “I recognize one of these email addresses. Or at least, the domain it came from.”

  


“Well, don't leave us in suspense!” Rainbow yelped. “Spit it out!”

  


Twilight gestured to one of the scrapbook pages. “This email comes from the 'chessblasters.org' domain. That's a website for a chess club I used to be a part of.”

  


“So a chess nerd started sending death threats to Sunset?” Rainbow asked. “That's just messed up.”

  


“It's not any chess club,” Twilight answered. “Chessblasters.org is the website of the Crystal Prep Chess Club.”

  


“I KNEW IT!” Rainbow cried. “I knew nobody at CHS would be that rotten.”

  


“I wouldn't celebrate too much,” Twilight said. “There's three other domains here that are registered to CHS clubs. As well as quite a few standard internet provider domains, plus web based email services.”

  


She sighed and looked up. “Like I said, I can probably narrow our list down, but there's still going to be quite a few possibilities left over.”

  


“Well, then while Twilight's getting rid of the sockpuppets, we can look into the ones we know about, right?” Pinkie said. 

  


Applejack nodded. “That's a good idea. Twilight, you still friends with anyone in the Chessblasters?”

  


“Not really,” Twilight looked uncomfortable. “I kinda got... kicked out.”

  


Rarity blinked. “Why on earth would they kick you out? I've seen you play Sunset to a draw several times!”

  


Twilight grimaced. “I sort of beat everybody in the club. Multiple times. They didn't like it. At all.”

  


“Ah,” Rarity said, not wanting to prolong her friend's discomfort. “Well, I suppose I could call Sour Sweet and see if she or any of the others have heard anything.”

  


“And Applejack and I can look into the clubs at school!” Rainbow smacked a fist into her palm. “We'll get to the bottom of this in no time.”

  


“Um, Rainbow?” Fluttershy whispered. “Maybe you shouldn't do that.”

  


“Why not? It's the fastest way!”

  


“But maybe not the best way,” Rarity interjected. “No offense, Rainbow darling, but you and Applejack can be a little... intimidating when the two of you are on edge.”

  


“On edge? What are you talking about?”

  


“She means when you get all riled up, you tend to punch first and ask questions later,” Applejack answered.

  


“I'm not gonna punch anybody!”

  


“Not with a fist, maybe. But you and me both have a reputation for not bein' all that fun to be around when we're upset. I'm with Fluttershy. If we're gonna investigate the clubs as school, we're gonna need to send in people who aren't gonna get their guards up.”

  


“Subtlety is the keyword,” Rarity said.

  


“Okay, but who's gonna do it?” Rainbow asked. “No offense, 'Shy, but if they start getting aggressive, you're gonna clam up and not get any answers. Me and AJ can't do it because if we get aggravated, THEY'RE gonna clam up. Rarity's going to be busy talking to the Crystal Preppers. Twi's doing her computer nerd thing, which only leaves... oh no.”

  


She looked over at Pinkie, who had somehow procured a can of whipped cream and was emptying most of it onto her lemon bar. She put the can down and shoved the whole mess into her mouth, causing her cheeks to bulge outward. 

  


“Whaf?” she asked when she saw everyone looking at her.  
  


“'Subtlety,' right,” Rainbow said, shooting Rarity a look. “So if you three are doing all that, what are me, AJ, and Fluttershy going to do?”

  


“One of the most important things we can,” Rarity said. She reached over and took the scrapbook from Twilight. “Excuse me, Twilight.”

  


Rarity handed the scrapbook to Rainbow. “Once Twilight has all the information she needs from this, you three are going to bring this to the attention of Principal Celestia.”


	5. School Day

Their plans in place, the girls began gathering their things in preparation to leave for school. 

  


“Oh wait!” Pinkie cried. She opened her backpack and pulled out Sunset's journal. “What about Princess Twilight? We were going to let her know what happened.”

  


“Good catch, Pinkie,” Rainbow said. “Lemme have that.” She grabbed the journal, flipped it open to a blank page, produced a pen, and began scribbling. 

  


“Y'all sure that's a good idea?” Applejack asked, quirking an eyebrow. “We don't want to panic the princess and all.”

  


“I'm certain Rainbow knows the gravity of the situation and will show the appropriate tact and restraint,” Rarity answered.

  


\---

  


“WHERE IS SHE?! IS SHE OKAY?! WHO DID IT?! WHY DID THEY DO IT?! WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?!” 

  


“Or, she could leave out some details and cause Princess Twilight to come rushin' through the portal in a blind panic.” Applejack muttered, looking at Rarity out of the corner of her eyes.

  


“Yes, I clearly did not think that through—OOF!” The wind rushed from Rarity's lungs as Princess Twilight nearly tackled her to the ground. The princess gripped Rarity's shoulders.

  


“Rarity, you were there! What happened?” she demanded.

  


“Twilight, darling,” Rarity said, prying the princess's hands from her shoulders. “Right now, Sunset's getting the very best care possible.” 

  


Rarity explained what had happened so far, including the scrapbook and their plans. The princess frowned and put a hand to her chin. 

  


“They're good theories, but I think you overlooked something,” she said.

  


Twilight looked at her twin. “What do you mean? We covered every -- no, we didn't.” Her eyes went wide and she smacked her forehead. “I am such a dummy!”

  


“What're you two eggheads talking about?” Rainbow asked. 

  


The two Twilights answered in unison. “The magic!”

  


“If Sunset's condition is the result of a magical attack, the amount of energy expended should leave residual traces,” said Princess Twilight. 

  


“And if there's traces,” Twilight continued, “I can modify some of my equipment I used just before the Friendship Games to find those traces.”

  


“I'm not seeing how that's going to help,” Rainbow replied. Both Twilights let out sighs of frustration.

  


“If I know what the magic's signature looks like, I can use my equipment to scan anyone we suspect of being Sunset's attacker,” Twilight explained. “If they give off the same readings, we have our culprit!”

  


“Well, Sunset was attacked at the mall, so I suppose that would be the best place to do that,” Rarity began. She was cut off as the bell rang signaling the beginning of the school day. “But after school. And I'm sure you have important business in Equestria, Twilight.”

  


Princess Twilight nodded. “I do, but I wanted to offer my help. I can stay if you need an extra hand.”

  


“I don't think there's anything to do right now, Twilight,” Fluttershy said. “We really haven't had a chance to talk to anyone yet.”

  


“I suppose you're right,” Princess Twilight said dejectedly. She looked up sharply. “But the second you know anything, I want you to contact me, okay?”

  


“We certainly will,” Rarity replied. She shot a look at Rainbow. “And we shall have someone else write the message next time.”

  


“All right, I dunno about y'all, but I think we've taken up enough time on this for right now,” said Applejack. “Homeroom's almost over, and I don't think we wanna be any tardier than we are now.”

  


“Tardy?!” Princess Twilight yelped. “Go! Go, go, go! Don't let me get you in trouble! If you need anything, let me know.”

  


The princess gave each girl a quick hug and waved before disappearing back through the portal. The others smiled at each other, amused by her reaction. Rainbow leaned over and elbowed Twilight. 

  


“You ever have epic freakouts over nothing like that?” she asked, smirking.

  


“About as often as you panic about forgetting to do your homework and come begging me to help you,” Twilight replies with a smirk of her own.

  


“Oooh, burn!” Pinkie said. There was laughter as they made their way into the school.

  


“All right,” Rarity said, “We all have our assignments. Twilight, meet me after school and we'll get your equipment and investigate the mall. I'll try to get ahold of Sour Sweet at lunch.”

  


“Sounds good,” said Twilight. “I'll get to work on those headers then too.”

  


“And we'll take the scrapbook to Principal Celestia during Study Hall,” Applejack said. She turned to Pinkie. “You know what you're doing, right, Pinks?”

  


“Check out the three clubs from the email addresses, see if I can find out who sent Sunset those nasty messages, then do whatever I can to get them to confess,” Pinkie's eyes narrowed dangerously. “Even if I have to use... _the chicken._ ” 

  


Up until that point, none of the girls would have thought you could hold a rubber chicken in a menacing matter. 

  


“Uh, Pinkie,” said Rainbow, “Maybe don't use the chicken. Just let us know if you find out everything.”

  


“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie chirped, making the chicken vanish back to wherever it had come from. 

  


\---

  


Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy entered the office. Rainbow waved to the student aide behind the desk. 

  


“Hey, Pepperdance,” she called. “We need to see Principal Celestia. She available?”

  


“Oh, hey, Rainbow,” Pepperdance replied. “One sec.” The redheaded girl picked up the office phone and dialed an extension. As she talked, she idly toyed with the chili pepper shaped locket around her neck. “Principal Celestia? Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack are asking if you have a minute to talk to them... okay. I'll send them in.”

  


She hung up. “She says she'll see you.”

  


“Great! Thanks, Pepps,” Rainbow said. “We still on for the skate park this weekend?”

  


“You know it,” Pepperdance replied. “Can't wait to whup you on the half pipe again.”

  


“You wish!” Rainbow smiled and the three girls entered the principal's office.

  


“Hello, girls,” Celestia said. She gestured to the chairs in front of her desk. “Have a seat.”

  


The three of them sat down. The principal folded her hands on the desk.

  


“How is Sunset?” she asked. Seeing the surprised look on their faces, she explained. “Miss Bookbinder called the school this morning. She told me what happened.”

  


“To be honest, Principal Celestia, she ain't good,” Applejack answered. “The doctor's say she's stable, but she's in a coma and they can't figure out why.”

  


“Which kinda brings us to why we're here,” Rainbow said. “We think whatever happened to Sunset has to do with magic.”

  


“Oh dear,” said Celestia, concern crossing her features. “Why do you think that?”

  


Rainbow explained what Rarity had seen at the mall, then Fluttershy told how she and Pinkie had gone to Sunset's apartment for the journal.

  


“And that's when we found this,” she said. Rainbow put the scrapbook on the principal's desk. 

  


“It looks like there's still a whole lot of people who are angry at Sunset,” Applejack said, as Celestia opened the scrapbook and paged through it. “And if one of those somebodys somehow came in contact with magic, well... I think you get where we're goin' with this.”

  


“But even without the magic involved, we thought you better see this,” Rainbow continued. “It's not fair!”

  


“No, it isn't. And I agree with you,” Celestia said, closing the scrapbook. She looked at her students. “Just as I did when Sunset told me she was still getting these messages.”

  


“What?!” the three girls shrieked.

  


“A few months ago, Sunset came to me with several of these messages. Like you, I was dismayed to see that her efforts haven't convinced everyone that she's turned over a new leaf. I asked her to keep a record of any other messages she received. I was expecting her to bring more in a couple of weeks so we could begin a formal investigation.”

  


Celestia sighed and looked back down at the scrapbook. “But I had no idea it was this bad. Thank you for bringing this to me, girls. I'll be looking into this immediately.”

  


“Thanks, Principal Celestia,” Applejack said, standing up. The other two followed suit. “We appreciate you seein' us like this.”

  


“I'd appreciate it if you could keep me updated on Sunset's condition,” the principal said, getting up herself. “And if I can offer some advice?”

  


“Advice?” Rainbow asked.

  


“If magic is involved, I want you all to be careful. What happened to Sunset could easily happen to any of you.”

  


“We'll be fine,” Rainbow insisted. “We're not planning on doing anything stupid.”

  


Celestia quirked an amused eyebrow. “You're currently five for five for dealing with magical problems around here. Do you really expect me to believe that you're going to leave this one alone, with the stakes this personal?”

  


Rainbow let out a nervous laugh. “Aheheh... yeah.”

  


“All right, yes, we're lookin' into it,” Applejack admitted. “But we know the danger and if things get too hairy, we'll be sure to back off.”

  


Celestia nodded. “Good. Now, I think the bell's about to ring. You best get to your next class.”

  


The girls nodded and left the office. As they passed by the desk, Pepperdance looked up.

“Hey, Dash, I heard about what happened to Sunset. I hope you're okay.”

  


“Yeah, I'm good. Hopefully, she'll come out of it soon. Thanks, Pepps.”

  


Pepperdance smiled and went back to her work. The three girls left the office.

  


“Well, what now?” Rainbow said.

  


“Are you workin' tonight?” Applejack asked.

  


“No, I got tonight off. Why?”

  


“I was just thinkin' somebody should got to the sushi restaurant after school and let Sunset's boss know she's in the hospital. I'd do it myself, but Big Mac needs some help fixin' the barn roof this afternoon.”

  


Rainbow nodded. “Sounds good. I'll head over with Twilight and Rarity after school. You in, Fluttershy?”

  


Fluttershy shook her head. “I have a shift at the shelter, but call me and let me know what you find.”

  


“Can do.”

  


The bell rang, and soon the halls were filled with students. The three girls said their goodbyes and headed to their next class. As they disappeared into the throng, someone watched them go. 

  


She clenched her fist, and pink sparks of lightning danced across her knuckles.

  


\---

  


Pinkie began her investigation at lunch. Three of the domains on the emails of the scrapbooks all came from the webpage of a CHS club: the Mathletes, the Drama Club, and the Computer Club. Pinkie, being Pinkie, had friends who belonged to all three clubs, and she was sure none of them were the ones sending the emails.

  


She slid onto the bench next to Wiz Kid, her Mathlete friend. The boy with the bowl hair cut looked up from his phone as she greeted him.

  


“Oh, hey, Pinkie,” he said. “How's it going?”

  


“Okay,” Pinkie answered. “Well, not really. Did you hear what happened to Sunset?”

  


“Yeah,” Wiz Kid replied. “That really sucks, especially after everything she's done to turn herself around. Do the police know what happened?”

  


“They're still looking into it. But the girls and I think we have another lead. Look at this,” Pinkie produced a photocopy of the email that had come from the Mathletes homepage. Wiz Kid looked it over and paled.

  


“That's sick,” he said. “And you're sure it came from this account?”

  


“Yeah,” Pinkie said, her expression sympathetic. “I really, really, REALLY hate to ask this, Wiz, but do you know whose email address this is?”

  


Wiz Kid looked at the email, his lips curling up in conflict. He sighed and looked at Pinkie. “Yeah. This is Moondancer's account. She's usually in the library during lunch.”

  


Pinkie leaned over and gave the boy a one armed hug. “Thanks, Wiz. I know how hard that was.” She produced a cupcake with chocolate frosting and orange sprinkles. “It's not much, but I hope this helps make you feel better.”

  


Wiz Kid gave her a small smile. “Thanks, Pinkie. It kinda does. Try not to be too hard on her, okay? She's not exactly social.”

  


Pinkie's smile faded. “I'll try.”

  


\---

  


Pinkie entered the library and spotted her quarry. Moondancer was at a table surrounded by books. She peered through horn rimmed glasses at the tome in front of her, idly brushing lint off her turtleneck sweater, causing the moon shaped locket around her neck to reflect the light coming throught the window. Pinkie strode over and slapped the email down over the book.

  


“Hello, Moondancer,” she said slowly. “How's your batting arm?”

  


Moondancer blinked and looked up. “Can I help you?”

  


“Yeah, you can tell me why you did what you did to Sunset Shimmer,” Pinkie said, leaning over her.

  


Moondancer quirked an eyebrow. “I have no idea what you're talking about.”

  


“SPILL IT, MOONDANCER!”

  


“SHHHHHHH!” came a chorus from everyone in the library. Moondancer and Pinkie blinked in surprise. Moondancer shook her head and glared at Pinkie.

  


“I didn't do anything to that harpy,” she hissed. “I understand you and your friends are upset because she's in the hospital, but excuse me if I don't shed a tear for someone who did nothing but make my life a living hell at this school for the last couple of years.”

  


“But she's changed!” Pinkie insisted. “She's making up for how she used to be.”

  


“Not to me, she hasn't,” Moondancer said, coldly. “But as much as I enjoy the fact that she's finally gotten something even remotely appropriate for what she's done, I'm not the one who did it. If you had bothered to read the entire email, you'd have noticed that I don't condone violence, even against those who deserve it”

  


“So you did write it!” Pinkie exclaimed.

  


“Yes, I did. I felt she needed to know that not everyone is as forgiving as you and your friends seem to be.”

  


The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Moondancer got up from the table, putting several of the books into her backpack. 

  


“Well,” she began, “While I can't say it's been pleasant, it has been kind of a relief to vocalize all this. Now, if there's nothing else, I have a biology lab to get to.”

  


Moondancer hoiseted her backpack onto her shoulder and muscled her way past Pinkie, blending into the crowd. Pinkie watched her go, frowning. She sighed, pulled a clipboard out of her hair and crossed Moondancer's name off the list.

  


“One down, two to go,” she said.

  


\---

  


The Drama Club was hard at work building the set for their next play when Pinkie entered the auditorium. It didn't take her long to find her target: A tall green girl, with two-toned blonde hair. She was dressed in ripped leggings, sneakers, and an oversized blue t-shirt that hung off one shoulder. A stylized fireball was on the front. She wore a gold pendant around her neck in the shape of the word “Boom!” in a comic book font. She was pounding some nails into a staircase on the set.

  


Pinkie nodded to herself and walked up to the stage. “Firecracker Burst!” she yelled.

  


The girl blinked and looked around. “Oh, hey, Pinkie.” Firecracker finished driving the nail she was working on and stood up.

  


“Don't change the subject!” Pinkie snapped, climbing up onto the stage. Firecracker blinked.

  


“What subject? You just got here,” she said, confused. Pinkie shot out a hand, grabbed the other girl's wrist, dragged her backstage, threw her into a chair and turned a spotlight on her.

  


“All right, Firecracker Burst, if that IS your real name,” Pinkie snarled.

  


“It... is my real name?” Firecracker said, frowning.

  


“And what about 'earthshatteringkaboom99?'” Pinkie thrust a copy of one of the other emails at her. “'You better watch your back, cause if you screw up, you might just find yourself on the receiving end of a barrage of bottle rockets where you sleep!' Sound familiar?”

  


Firecracker gulped and blushed. She put a hand behind her head. “Oh yeah, that. Um, I guess should explain.”

  


“Yeah, maybe you should. What did Sunset ever do to you?” Pinkie demanded, folding her arms.

  


“To me? Nothing,” Firecracker began. “But I hate bullies, and she was one of the worst I've ever seen. You have no idea how many people she made miserable ever since she came here. I can't tell you how many times I had to help put somebody back together after she tore them down.”

  


Pinkie blinked, and she stared at Firecracker, surprised. “Put them back together?”

  


Firecracker sighed. “Yeah. When I saw that nobody could stop her from terrorizing the school, I decided the best thing to do was help anyone who couldn't take it. So I started volunteering at the community center help line, helping out the younger kids, being a shoulder to cry on, you name it. Seriously, Sunset used to know how to really get to somebody and make them consider doing some truly stupid things to get her to stop. Fortunately, Twilight – the first Twilight – showed up and put a stop to her crap.”

  


The green girl shrugged. “And then there was the Dazzlings and she showed she really had turned over a new leaf. But by then I was enjoying the volunteer work I was doing, so I kept it up.”

  


“But, if you don't have a problem with her now, what about the email?” Pinkie asked.

  


“Yeah, that was during the whole Anon-A-Miss thing. When word got to me that Sunset looked like she was back up to her old tricks, I was at a party. Berry Punch got into her parents' liquor cabinet,” Firecracker let out a nervous laugh. “I was really drunk when I sent that. And when it came out that she hadn't done that, I was really embarrassed and just decided it'd be better if I tried to stay out of her way.”

  


She looked down at her feet. “In retrospect, I probably should have apologized to her.”

  


Pinkie turned off the spotlight, pulled up another chair and sat down. “So you really don't have it in for Sunset?”

  


“I don't have a reason to have it in for her,” Firecracker answered. “I mean, yeah, if she started her old tricks again, I'd probably do something, but right now? No.”

  


Pinkie stood up. “All right then. Thanks for telling me, Firecracker. Sorry for pulling you away from the set.”

  


“No problem,” Firecraker said, getting up herself. “You really think somebody here at school did this?”

  


“We're not sure yet. But Sunset's been getting nasty emails and letters for months. Three of them came from club websites here at school. I've been trying to find out who sent them and why.”

  


“Hmmm, how many people have you talked to?” Firecracker asked. 

  


“Two,” Pinkie said. She passed a copy of the third email over to the other girl. Firecracker took it and looked it over. 

  


“This is really sick,” she said. A frown crossed her face. “And I know who sent this.”

  


“Who?” Pinkie asked.

  


“Beachberry,” Firecracker grumbled. “She got on Sunset's bad side about a month before the Fall Formal. I helped her through it, or so I thought. Look, what I sent was wrong and I admit that, but this was sent only a couple of weeks ago. I thought she knew better than that.”

  


Firecracker looked at her watch. “She's got study hall coming up. She usually spends it in the computer lab. If you want to talk to her, that's the best place to do it. She has a job at the mall after school she usually has to rush off to when school's over.” 

  


Pinkie nodded. “Thanks, Firecracker! You've been a big help! Catch you later!”

  


She walked out the backstage door leading to the hallway. As the door closed, Firecracker let out a sigh.

  


_Good. She bought it._

  


\---

  


Beachberry smirked as she hit the “submit” button on her favorite Daring Do fan forum. A complete breakdown and analysis of the various easter eggs and call backs to other books in the series in the recent movie, including at least five she knew nobody else had spotted yet. The board would go nuts for it.

  


And then go nuts again when they realized three of them she had compelety made up. 

  


She pushed back from the desk and stretched her arms. Yes, it was a cheap gag, but by this point, she had a reputation on the board for this kind of elaborate trolling. She even had a small following who positively delighted in figuring out what was real and what she had made up. 

  


She pulled her three toned hair (Orange, pink, and purple in three parallel lines) out of its ponytail and ran her fingers through it, untangling the snarls. She adjusted the chain of the beachball pendant around her neck, letting it rest on her pink tank top. She stood up and turned, getting an angry pink face right in her field of vision.

  


“Gah!” Beachberry staggered back in surprise. “Pinkie Pie! You scared the crap out of me. What the hell?”

  


Pinkie held out the email. “Why?”

  


Beachberry took the email and looked down at it.

  


  


**I know you. I know what you really are, and everybody else does too. No one likes you. No one cares about you. Everyone at this school would be a whole lot happier if somebody just took a fire axe to your skull, then fed your brains to hungry dogs, then took what they crapped out and hurled it into an incinerator then took what was left, mixed it into a drink, swallowed it and pissed your remains into the sewer where you belong.**

  


**Or you can save us all the trouble and go back to whatever bizzaro world you originally came from. You don't belong here. So leave. Or kill yourself. Either works for me. Hell, if you haven't got the guts to do that, reply to this email and let me know, and I'll be happy to put you out of our misery.**

  


**Maybe I won't wait for you to reply.**

  


Beachberry looked up at the “From” field of the email, then handed it back to Pinkie Pie. “I didn't write this.”

  


“Firecracker Burst says you did,” Pinkie replied.

  


“Firecracker Burst is a goody two-shoes who can't mind her own damn business,” Beachberry snapped. She poked the paper in Pinkie's hands. “That's not my email or IP address. So as far as anyone can tell, I didn't send that email. Go bother somebody else.”

  


Pinkie shoved the email back into her hair and folded her arms, her expression carefully blank. 

  


“Fine, you didn't write it,” she said. “Let's talk about something else. What happened that got you on Sunset Shimmer's bad side before the Fall Formal?”

  


“Oh, is that what you want to know? Gee, let me just see if I can remember. Oh, right,” Beachberry's expression darkened. “It's none of your damn business!”

  


Beachberry stepped forward and leaned in, causing Pinkie to take a step back. “What happened between me and Sunset Shimmer is between me and Sunset Shimmer. Nobody else. Not Firecracker Burst, not Principal Celestia, and sure as hell not you or your damn friends! I'd tell you to go ask her if you really want to know, but I guess that's not really an option, is it?”

  


Beachberry turned away and grabbed her backpack from below the computer desk. She slung it over her shoulder and turned back to Pinkie Pie. 

  


“I don't what happened to Sunset Shimmer,” she began. “I do know that I had nothing to do with it. And frankly, I could not care less whether she lives or dies. We're done here. Don't bother me again.”

  


Beachberry shoved her way past Pinkie Pie and left the computer lab. She tried slamming the door on her way out, but the safety bar slowed the door down as she left. Pinkie let out a sigh and pulled out her phone. 

  


“Hey Rarity,” she said. “I found all three of them,but there's a couple of problems. Yeah. No, it's just weird. One doesn't seem to care, it looks like one of the others only sent it when she was drunk and angry, and the last one won't talk at all. Okay, see you then.”

  


Pinkie ended the call, sighed again and walked out of the computer lab. Being a detective was hard. And depressing.

  


\---

  


Rarity made the call at lunch. 

  


“Hello?” came a bright voice. 

  


“Sour Sweet? It's Rarity.”

  


“Oh, hi, Rarity! What's up?”

  


“I wish I was calling for social reasons,” Rarity said. “But I'm afraid this isn't exactly going to be pleasant.”

  


Rarity quickly explained what had happened to Sunset and their discovery of the scrapbook.

  


“According to Twilight, one of the emails came from Crystal Prep's Chessblasters club. You wouldn't happen to know if anyone in that club is still holding a grudge from the Friendship Games, would you?”

  


“Not offhand, but then, to be honest, there's a bunch of people here that still look down on the public school kids,” Sour Sweet's voice lowered. “Lamebrained close minded idiots.”

  


Rarity stifled a giggle. She may have softened, but Sour Sweet's tendency to utter her true opinions of those around her out loud still hadn't changed. She regained her composure and spoke.

  


“Is there any chance you could ask around and see if there's anyone over there who does have something against Sunset in the Chessblasters?”

  


“Not me, but I think Sugarcoat's still a member. I could ask her to look into it.”

  


“Sugarcoat?” Rarity blanched at the mention of the brutally honest and incredibly tactless CPA student. “Not to disparage her, you understand, but isn't it likely she might, well, scare off anyone she asks about this?”

  


Sour Sweet let out a short laugh. “Believe me, she fits right in with the Chessblasters. I get what you're saying, but she's the only person I know who has any sort of contact with them. Even around here, the Chessblasters aren't exactly known for being social.”

  


Rarity sighed. “All right, if you could arrange it, Sour, darling, I'd appreciate it.”

  


“I'll call you after school and let you know,” Sour replied. “And Rarity?”

  


“Yes?”

  


“For what it's worth, I'm really sorry about what happened to Sunset. I hope she gets better soon.”

  


“Thank you, Sour Sweet. I think I speak for all the girls when I say we appreciate it.”

  


“I'll call you later.”

  


“Thank you again. Goodbye.”

  


Rarity ended the call and walked back to the lunch table where Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Applejack were waiting.

  


“Well?” Rainbow asked. 

  


“She's looking into it. Well, more accurately, Sugarcoat's looking into it.”

  


“Oh great,” Rainbow groaned. “I'm sure THAT'S gonna go well.”

  


“It's our only way to look into the message that came from Crystal Prep,” Applejack said. “We can't just ignore it.”

  


“I know that, but jeez, it's Sugarcoat.”

  


“I don't think she's so bad,” said Fluttershy. “A little blunt, but once you get to know her, like we did making the music video, she's actually pretty nice. Right, Twilight? Twilight?”

  


Twilight made a non-committal noise, and crossed out some lines on one of the pieces of paper scattered around her, then reached for another one. She scanned it, crossed more lines out and put it on another stack. 

  


“Good thing we photocopied all those emails before we turned the scrapbook over to Principal Celestia,” Rainbow said. “The egghead's marking those up more than Ms. Harshwhinny does when I turn in my homework.”

  


“Any progress, Twilight?” Applejack asked. 

  


Twilight didn't respond. 

  


“Twilight, darling?” Rarity said, trying to get the bespectacled girl's attention.

  


“... cross-reference those three addresses with the ones in stack B...” Twilight muttered.

  


“TWILIIIIIIIIGHT!” Rainbow yelled. The ambient noise in the cafeteria stopped immediately as everyone turned to look where the yelling had come from. Rainbow blushed and laughed nervously.

  


“Ah... heheh... sorry,” she said. The rest of the students in the cafeteria went back to their conversations. Fortunately, the outburst had the desired effect.

  


“Sorry,” Twilight said. “I got caught up in eliminating the duplicates. But there's another wrinkle.”

  


“What do you mean?” Rarity said.

  


“I'll still have to look more in depth at these when I get home, but if I'm right, it actually looks like almost half of these messages came from the same person. The IP and email addresses are different, but in terms of sentence structure, tone, and grammar, I'm pretty sure they were all written by the same person.”

  


“How could they all have different IP addresses?” Rainbow asked.

  


“Easily, if they connected a laptop to a bunch of different wi-fi networks around the city,” Twilight answered. “And it's easy enough to get several email accounts from different providers these days. But, like I said, it's the content of the messages that seem similar. I'm not sure how we can prove that they were written by the same perso-n, but it should at least help us make sure we're on the right track and not chasing somebody who may not even exist.”

  


“Well, don't forget we need to see if we can find any residual magic at the mall this afternoon, darling,” Rarity reminded. “I'll take you over to your house so you can get your equipment and we'll go.”

  


“You guys mind if I tag along?” Rainbow asked. “AJ thinks somebody better let Sunset's boss know what happened.”

  


“Good idea,” Rarity said. “We'll pick you up at the west entrance after school.”

  


Rainbow nodded. “I hope we find something soon. I hate not being able to do anything.”

  


“I know the feeling. Believe me.”

  


Rarity slumped down on the bench and took out her phone. She looked at the photo of the seven of them that served as her wallpaper.

  


_Hang on, Sunset darling,_ she thought. _We're getting closer. We'll find them, I promise._


	6. Mind Games II

“Stop it,” Sunset whispered. She was bent over as far as she could with the restraints keeping her in the chair. Her hair hung over her face. “Please, just stop it.”

  


The mirror had shown her an unending parade of images. Every petty, vindictive, selfish act she had committed from her time as Princess Celestia's student to her reign of terror at Canterlot High. Every insult, every plan, every rotten thing she had done to the students had been shown to her. 

  


It had shown her everything she had ever done to her friends. Destroying the dress Rarity made. Crashing and ruining one of Pinkie Pie's parties that was meant to try to bring everyone at school together. Spreading rumors that Sweet Apple Acres produce was tainted by illegal pesticides. Putting out rumors that Rainbow Dash was using performance enhancing drugs. And worst of all, just making Fluttershy miserable at every encounter they had. It was like being blasted by the magic of friendship all over again, but instead of happening over a few seconds, this never ended.

  


Her reflection was loving every minute of it.

  


“Stop? Now?” it sneered. “But we're just getting to the good part. You know, where you get to relive what you did to the girl who put you here in the first place. When you--”

  


“I KNOW!” Sunset cried, snapping back upright in the chair. Tears were forming in her eyes. “I KNOW WHAT I DID TO HER! I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO HER AFTERWARDS! I WISH I COULD TAKE IT BACK, BUT I CAN'T! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!”

  


For the first time, the reflection didn't smile. It walked forward and placed a hand on the back of the chair.

  


“I want you to realize who you are,” it said quietly. “I want you to know that no matter what you do, no matter how many friends you have, no matter how many times you save that pathetic little world from the magic you inflicted on it, there's no way to escape your real destiny.”

  


The reflection grabbed the back of Sunset's hair and yanked her head back. It leaned its face closer to Sunset, its voice low and dangerous.

  


“You are going to ruin _everything_ , Sunset Shimmer,” it said. “And when there's absolutely nothing left for you, you'll come back to me and then, oh, the fun we're going to have.”

  


The reflection pointed back at the mirror and positioned Sunset's head so she could see. Sunset stared as the mirror flared to life again. She gasped at the image of herself, transformed again into her demon self, laughing as the town burned. Her friends all lying dead at her feet, the shattered remnants of the geodes scattered around them. 

  


“No,” she whispered. She began struggling against her bonds, fear and anger sweeping through her. “That is NOT my destiny!”

  


The reflection snarled and yanked hard on Sunset's hair, causing her to cry out. It hissed into her ear, its voice now dark and twisted.

  


“Yes, it is. You wanted to know what I want and it's this. You; powerful, invincible, terrible. And when you've burned that world to ash, Equestria will be the next to fall. And from there, world after world after world after--”

  


**“ENOUGH!”**

  


The voice echoed like a crash of thunder. A golden beam of light shot from the sky and struck the mirror, causing it to shatter into thousands of pieces. The reflection threw up its arms to block the shards, while Sunset tried to curl herself into as small a ball to minimize any impact. 

  


The reflection looked up to see where the attack had come from and it snarled again.

  


“You,” it growled. It grabbed Sunset's hair again and pulled, forcing the girl to face it. “Don't think we're finished yet.”

  


There was a burst of flame and the reflection disappeared. Sunset leaned back in the chair and let out a sigh of relief, closing her eyes. She heard and felt a large form land next to her and move close. Sunset felt a warm sensation on her wrists and ankles and then heard the restraints snap open.

  


“There. You're safe now, Sunset,” came an all-too-familiar voice. Sunset's eyes snapped open and she stared at the large white form in front of her. 

  


“Princess Celestia?” she whispered. The alicorn shook her head, her mane flowing majestically behind her head.

  


“No, I'm not the princess, Sunset,” she answered. “But you can refer to me as her if it helps.”

  


“No, of course you aren't,” Sunset said, shaking her head. “This is still my mind. You're just some aspect of my psyche, just like that thing was.”

  


“Yes,” Celestia agreed. 

  


Sunset stood up. This was the first time she had ever been aroudn the Princess as a human, and she was surprised to see the princess was still almost a foot taller than her. “So now what?”

  


“That's entirely up to you, Sunset,” Celestia replied. 

  


Sunset groaned. “I'm sorry, but I think my brain recreated you a little too accurately.”

  


The princess chuckled. “Well, I'm afraid you'll have to take that up with the owner of this brain.”

  


Sunset stared at Celestia for a moment, then laughed herself. “You got me there. How about we try to get specific? I'm obviously still in the coma, and I can only assume you're here for a reason. So, for right now, what do we do?”

  


Celestia gestured with her horn. Sunset looked in the direction she indicated. A table had appeared nearby, with a chair on one side and a large cushion on the other. An elegant china tea service was laid out on the top, with a selection of cakes and finger sandwiches. 

  


“For right now,” Celestia said, “We talk.” 


	7. Mall Magic

As Rarity and Twilight waited outside the west entrance to the school for Rainbow Dash, Rarity's phone began to ring. Rarity picked it up and frowned at the unfamiliar number. She and Twilight exchanged a concerned glance before Rarity swiped the screen to answer.

  


“Hello?”

  


“Hello, Rarity. It's Miss Bookbinder.”

  


“Oh! Hello, Miss Bookbinder,” Rarity said, relaxing. 

  


“I wanted to let you know that the doctor has transferred Sunset out of Intensive Care to a regular room and will allow her visitors starting tomorrow,” said the landlady. “I thought you and your friends would like to know.”

  


“Oh, yes, that's good to know. Thank you so much, Miss Bookbinder. Has there been any change in her condition?”

  


“Unfortunately not. She's still unresponsive, but they performed an MRI and they've confirmed there's no brain damage, so that's something. I'll be sticking around here for a while longer, but then I'll be going home. If there's any change, I'll be sure to let you know.”

  


“Of course. Thank you so much, Miss Bookbinder.”

  


“You're very welcome, Rarity. Good-bye.”

  


“Good-bye.” Rarity ended the call and turned to Twilight, who was looking at her with wide eyed expectation. “Sunset's been moved to a regular room. We can start visiting tomorrow.”

  


“Well, that's good,” said Twilight. “Any changes?”

  


“No, she's still non-responsive. Which means we need to get to work as soon as possible.”

  


Rarity turned in her seat to look out the car windows. She sighed through her teeth. “Where IS Rainbow Dash?”

  


The back door opened on the opposite side from where Rarity was looking, and Rainbow slid into the back seat. “I'm right here! Hold your horses!” 

  


“You should have been here ten minutes ago,” Rarity said, starting the car. 

  


“I had to help gather up the sports equipment!”

  


“Could we please not fight right now?” Twilight asked. “We have more important things to worry about.”

  


“Yes, you're right. Good point, darling,” Rarity said. “Will you need long to get your equipment?”

  


“Ten minutes tops,” Twilight answered. “I gathered it all together this morning before school.”

  


“Then what are we waiting for?” Rainbow asked, leaning forward. “Put the pedal to the medal, Rares!”

  


Rarity smirked and slammed down on the gas pedal just long enough to cause Rainbow to be thrust back into the backseat, causing the athlete to let out a shriek and a curse. Twilight and Rarity giggled.

  


\---

  


Twilight pulled her latest magic detecting gizmo out of the small bag she had picked up from her house. Rarity recognized part of it as the pendant Twilight had used at the Friendship Games, but the rest of it was a complete mish mash of who knew how many different electronic componets.

  


Twilight noticed her confused look and smiled. “Yeah, I tweaked the anomaly detector after the whole thing with Juniper. I figured it might help if any more magic started manifesting around town.”

  


“I assume it doesn't randomly absorb magic and rip open the fabric of reality now?” Rarity smiled. Twilight gave her a look, then pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose using a particular finger. Rarity couldn't help but laugh.

  


“No, it doesn't do that anymore,” Twilight answered. “Instead, it should be able to detect magical signatures in the area. Right now, it has a really limited range, but I'm hoping eventually I can boost the power to locate wherever the magic is coming from.”

  


Twilight touched the center of the anomaly detector, which came to life. The small touch screen in the center displayed a six pointed star and the LEDs surrounding the circumference began lighting in sequence. Surrounding the detector was a frame which seemed to be made from two video game controllers and possibly a windowless microwave oven door. 

***

Twilight tapped a couple of buttons, flicked a control stick and smiled as the star display began to pulsate. “Okay, we're up and running. Where did you find Sunset?”

  


Rarity led her friend over to the alley leading to the access corridors. Twilight began scanning the area with her device. Rarity kept an eye out, unsure if they were actually allowed to be here. She caught sight of a security camera above the door, a red light under the lens glowing brightly.

  


“Twilight, darling,” she began. “How long do you think this will take? I don't know if we're allowed to be here.”

  


“Shouldn't take too long. If there's any sort of residual magic, I should get a reading – ah ha!”

  


Twilight stood up from where she'd been crouching. The purple six pointed star had turned into an undulating pink line, and the LEDs were now all flashing simultaneously. “Got it! Now all I have to do is scan our suspects and if they give off the same reading we'll know they've been in contact with the – what?”

  


The “what?” was because the detector let out a loud chirp and the LED's went dark for a split second, before one began flashing on its own.

  


“I've seen it do that before,” Rarity said. “It's indicating magic it's detected, isn't it?”

  


“Yes, but I didn't expect it to start doing it right away.” Twilight looked in the direction the light indicated. “It looks like it's coming from inside the mall.”

  


“Well, let's not risk any unfortunate encounters with security,” Rarity pulled out her phone and dialed a number. “The food court entrance is around the corner. Let's meet up – Rainbow? Twilight's magic detector has picked up a signal. It's coming from inside the mall. Do you see anyone we know?”

  


“Oh yeah, I do,” Rainbow replied. “I just saw Beachberry leaving the Steakery Shack. You think it might be her?”

  


Rarity took Twilight's arm and half dragged her out of the alley way. “Perhaps, but Pinkie did say that she has an after school job here. Follow her and we'll catch up to you.”

  


\---

  


“Check,” Rainbow said. She began walking quickly out of the food court, trying to keep Beachberry in sight without her quarry spotting her. She ducked and dodged behind several kiosks, information signs, and other mall patrons, getting a few dirty looks in the process. 

  


“She's heading down the south hall,” she said into her phone. 

  


“We're right behind you, darling,” Rarity replied. “Don't lose her.”

  


Rainbow made a few more less-than-subtle attempts at concealment, before stopping behind an information display. She looked around the corner and saw Beachberry stop in front of Nobody Loves Me. The tri-toned girl reached into her bag, pulled out a nametag and pinned it to her shirt before going inside. 

  


Rarity and Twilight caught up to her. 

  


“Well?” Rarity asked.  
  


“She just went into Nobody Loves Me. Looks like she was just going to work,” Rainbow answered.

  


“Well,” Twilight was looking at the detector. The light was flashing so fast that it was almost solid again and it was pointing right at the store. “The readings are definitely coming from that store. Maybe if I go in by myself and act casual we could – “

  


Twilight was cut off as an ear piercing shriek came from the store. The three girls quickly looked around the corner of the sign to see an explosion of pink light, and a split second later, the form of Beachberry flying backwards through the air and crashing into the window of the store opposite. The glass held, but Beachberry bounced off and crashed to the floor, unmoving. 

  


Rainbow moved to go to the fallen girl, but Rarity instinctively grabbed her arm. This proved to be a wise move as a tall woman, nearly seven feet in height, dressed in a black overcoat and floppy brimmed hat strode out of the store and stood over Beachberry's unmoving form. 

  


All three girls' eyes widened when the woman raised a hand and pink lightning began swarming over her palm and up her fingers like a Jacob's Ladder. Near her throat, they saw a glowing pink light.

  


“It's her!” Rainbow cried. She broke Rarity's grip and dashed out from behind the sign. “Hey, you! Leave her alone!”

  


The woman looked up. The upper part of her face was obscured by the brim of the hat, but Rainbow saw her lips curl up into a sneer. The woman quickly turned and began running down the hall, throwing magical lightning to force the assorted shoppers to panic. 

  


“Oh, no, you don't!” Rainbow gripped the geode around her neck. There was a flash of blue light and she took off after the woman, leaving a multicolored afterimage behind her. The chase was on.

  


The woman in the black overcoat skidded to a halt as Rainbow zipped past her and stopped, arms folded, looking confident.

  


“Hi there,” she said, “You're busted!”

  


The woman growled and hurled another bolt of pink lightning at the athlete. Rainbow dodged to the left, barely evading the bolt, which crashed into another information sign, causing it to explode. Rainbow leaped into action, zipping through the hallway, grabbing bystanders and getting them to safety as the fragments of the sign flew through the air. She came to a stop and cursed as she saw the woman turn the far corner into the next wing of the mall. She grabbed her phone and called Rarity.

  


“She's heading into the east hall! I'll keep her busy, you and Twilight try to get behind her!”

  


She hung up, not giving Rarity a chance to answer. She grabbed the geode again and felt the tingle in her ears and her back as she ponied up. She took to the air and zoomed around the corner, flying over the heads of a couple of astonished security guards. 

  


“Attention customers and tenants,” came a voice over the PA. The speaker was clearly trying to remain calm, but there was an edge of panic to their voice. “Due to unexpected issues, we need to evacuate the mall at this time. Please head for your nearest exit in a calm and orderly fashion.”

  


Rainbow watched as the customers below her ran for the exits. She scanned the hall looking for any sign of the black-coated woman. . _She couldn't have gotten that far ahead of me._

  


She caught a flash of pink light from the corner of her eye, then pain exploded in her side. Rainbow let out a cry and bounced off the wall. Her vision blurred as she crashed to the floor, rolling a few feet to a stop. 

  


“You just couldn't let it go, could you?” came a voice. Rainbow looked up to see the woman walking slowly towards her.

  


“Sh-Shut up!” Rainbow gasped. She clutched her side as she got to her feet. It didn't feel like she was bleeding or anything was broken, but she was sure she was going to have a huge bruise later. 

  


The woman ignored her. “You could have just accepted your so-called friend finally paid for what she did, buried her, and moved on, but no.”

  


She raised her hand again and hurled more bolts of lightning at Rainbow. Rainbow took to the air again and began flying in random patterns, trying to avaid being struck.

  


“YOU. HAD. TO. KEEP. PUSHING!” the woman screamed. She thrust out both hands unleashing a massive beam of energy at the flying girl. Rainbow yelped and did an impressive midair backflip, the beam passing over her and gouging a huge gash in the ceiling. 

  


Rainbow frowned and grit her teeth. She flew up as high as she could and thrust herself downward, one leg extended. The woman threw her arms up in front of her face as Rainbow's foot connected, sending both of them crashing to the floor. The woman scrabbled back to her feet first and kicked Rainbow in the side, causing the athlete to cry out and collapse back to the floor.

  


The woman grinned and stood over the fallen ponygirl. She thrust out a sparking hand and prepared to fire a bolt straight into Rainbow's head.

  


“That's quite enough of that, I think!”

  


Suddenly, the woman's hand was encased in a purple glow. She fought to keep it in position, but her strength gave out and she was hurled backward down the hall. Rainbow looked up and let out as sigh of relief at the sight of Rarity and Twilight, both ponied up, standing in front of her. Twilight held her hands out, manipulating her telekinetic field. Her teeth were clenched, and beads of sweat were forming on her forehead.

  


The woman screamed and started to get to her feet, fighting againt the purple aura that now surrounded her. The three girls gawped as the woman managed to force herself to her knees. 

  


“Don't let her move!” Rainbow cried, staggering to her feet. 

  


“I'm trying!” Twilight yelled back. “But she's fighting me! I don't know how long I can hold it.”

  


“Then let me deal with her!” Rarity threw her hands up and sent out half a dozen crystals. They quickly surrounded the woman and encaged her. Rarity grinned as Twilight dropped her telekinesis, sighing in relief as she did so.

  


“That takes care of that,” Rarity said, smiling. “Now, all we have to do is get her to undo – “

  


Rainbow made a frantic “no no” gesture with her hands. Rarity and Twilight Looked at her oddly, but Rainbow mouthed “Trust me” and stepped forward. The woman, who had been bashing her fists against the crystals, 

  


“No,” she said, “We won't let it go. You kill our friend and you think we're just going to let that slide? Not a chance.”

  


“Hmm?!” both Twilight and Rarity let out noises of surprise from behind her. Rainbow put a hand behind her back and flapped it, indicating they needed to keep quiet.

  


“Once we figure out how to take away your magic, you're going to jail,” she continued. “And there's only one thing we want to know: why?”

  


“You should know. Aside from her,” the woman quickly nodded her head at Twilight,“you were all there. You know what she did.”

  


The woman grinned, the pink glow near her throat beginning to glow brighter. The three girls frowned. Rarity concentrated harder, attempting to reinforce the shield. The glow grew even brighter, refracted by the crystal panels. Rainbow and Twilight put an arm up to block the blinding glare, while Rarity began to squint.

“Something's not right!” she cried. She began to feel the same resistance Twilight had. Across the way, the crystals began to crack. The form of the woman was almost lost in the pink glow.

  


“As for taking my magic,” the woman's voice echoed inside the crystal prison. “I don't think so.”

  


The pink light exploded, shattering Rarity's shield and the rush of energy sent the three girls hurtling down the hall. They landed hard and slid twenty feet along the floor. They looked up to see the woman back on her feet. They stared at each other for a breif second, then there was another explosion of pink light. The three girls gasped as the woman turned into a giant bolt of lightning and vanished into the light fixture in the ceiling, causing it to short out and the other lights to flicker.

  


“Wow,” Rainbow said, getting painfully to her feet. “That's not good.”

  


“No,” said Twilight, pulling out her magic detector. She looked at it, pushing buttons and fiddling with the touch screen. “These readings are higher than anything I've seen before. I- I honestly don't know if we can beat her.”

  


“We'll worry about that later, darling,” Rarity said. “In the meantime, I think we'd better check on Beachberry.”

  


At that moment, they heard the faint sound of a siren. Which brought their attention to the destruction surrounding them. 

  


“On second thought,” Rarity began. “Let's talk to Beachberry tomorrow after she's been seen to.”

  


“We probably should leave now, before the police show up,” Twilight said. Her breath was starting to become fast and erratic. “Because then we'll have to explain about the magic, and what we were doing, and then they'll call our parents, and we'll be held responsible for the damage, and then we'll get sued and grounded and--”

  


“Twilight!” Rarity and Rainbow shouted. Twilight shut up and swallowed hard. There was a flash of light and the three reverted to normal. 

  


“Right,” Rarity said. “I think it's time to go.” The three began quickly making their way to the nearest exit. Twilight continued fiddling with the magic detector as they walked. 

  


“At least now we know what we're up against,” Rarity said. “She's not going to be easy to defeat. She seems to be in tune with the magic much more than anyone else we've faced.”

  


“We know something else too,” Rainbow replied. “She thinks she's killed Sunset.”

  


“Ah!” Rarity exclaimed. “That explains that.”

  


“Not really,” Twilight piped up. “Something's bothering me. She thinks she's killed Sunset, but she also said you were all there when whatever Sunset did to her happened. The kids at school all seem to know Sunset's in the hospital. Not only that, if Sunset was her target, why attack Beachberry?”

  


“We'll find that out tomorrow,” Rainbow said. “And this time, we'll make sure to find out why she had it in for Sunset to begin with.”

  


“But she was just attacked,” Twilight insisted. “That proves she's not whoever that woman was. She couldn't have attacked Sunset.”

  


“No, but as Shadow Spade always says, 'you never know what's going to be a clue if you don't get as much information as you can,'” Rarity said, quoting a line from her favorite series of mystery novels. “As for her thinking she killed Sunset, it's entirely possible that while she attended CHS, she doesn't anymore.”

  


“Which clears Firecracker Burst and Moondancer, doesn't it?” Twilight asked. Rarity frowned, realizing the implications. The group finally reached Rarity's car, got in and managed to leave without being noticed by the police who had arrived on the scene. 

  


After the mall had vanished from the rear view mirror, Rarity spoke.

  


“You're absolutely right, Twilight. If she thinks Sunset's dead, then she can't go to CHS. And if she doesn't go to CHS, then she can't be any of the three girls Pinkie talked to.”

  


“Unless she's lying,” Rainbow said in a quiet voice. Rarity and Twilight looked at her in the rear view mirror. Rainbow had an expression of wonder on her face, like something had just clicked in her head.

  


“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

  


“She might have been trying to fake us out,” Rainbow explained. “Just like I was trying to get her to spill the beans, she might have been pretending to think Sunset's dead to keep us running in circles.”

  


“Possible,” Rarity conceded. “But, you must admit, kind of a gamble to take.”

  


“I know,” Rainbow said. “That's the only thing that doesn't make sense. Why use that trick now? There's only two reasons I can think of. Either she DOES go to CHS and knew we were looking into what she did to Sunset and she wants to throw us off. Or – ” Rainbow trailed off and her eyes grew wide with shock. “Call Miss Bookbinder! Now!”

  


“Whatever for?” Rarity said.

  


“It's a threat!” Rainbow exclaimed. “I hope I'm wrong, but if not, she may be going after Sunset to finish the job right now!”


	8. Two Conversations

**She's waiting for me when I get home.**

  


**“What the hell is this?!” she demands, gesturing at the TV, where the news is covering my fight with the bitch's friends.**

  


**“I ran into her friends. Wasn't expecting them,” I say, tossing the hat and coat onto the couch. She folds her arms and frowns.**

  


**“Yeah? And Beachberry? She had nothing to do with it!”**

  


**“She may not have made it public, but she sure as hell circulated it all over MyStable and the rest of the internet! She's just as guilty as Sunset is!”**

  


**“You blasted her into a store window!”**

  


**“She didn't break it.”**

  


**“Are you even listening to yourself right now?”**

  


**“I'm doing this for you!”**

  


**“I never asked you to put one girl in a coma and another into a storefront!”**

  


**“Well, excuse the hell out of me for caring about you!”**

  


**“Caring is one thing, revenge is another! Neither of them deserved this!”**

  


**“They don't -- oh, my God. Now who's not listening to what they're saying? Your life was ruined because of that damn dance election, and now you're fine with them just walking away scott free?”**

  


**“There's better ways to deal with Beachberry, and Sunset has turned herself around! I've seen it just as much as you have! I forgave her a long time ago.”**

  


**“She's never even apologized for what she did to you!”**

  


**Her voice goes quiet. “Since when has an apology been a requirement for forgiveness?”**

  


**She comes closer to me, her voice soft but firm. “This is over. Give me the necklace.”**

  


**My hand shoots up to the pendant around my throat. “Not a chance. And this isn't over yet. You're going to get justice, whether you want it or not.”**

  


**Her expression changes from anger to sadness. “That's not your choice to make. Give me the pendant. It's done something to you. Changed you, and not in a good way.”**

  


**“I can't. I can't let this go unpunished. You deserve better.”**

  


**“Give me the pendant, or I walk out that door and never come back.”**

  


**I stare at her, shocked. “You wouldn't.”**

  


**She nods. “I don't want to, but I will. You give me the pendant, and tomorrow we go to Sunset's friends and explain what happened. Then you undo whatever you did to Sunset and apologize to Beachberry. We'll deal with the consequences together.”**

  


**My heart sinks and I feel like I just got kicked in the ribs. She's serious. I don't even have to ask. I can see it in her eyes.**

  


**“And if I don't, you leave,” I say, my voice flat.**

  


**“Yes,” she answers. “If you choose that thing over us, then you aren't the girl I want to be with anymore.”**

  


**I clutch the pendant. Even though I'm not actively using the magic, I can feel it coursing over my skin in electric tingles. I look into her eyes and see her pleading me to give it up. I see the sadness, the misery, the yearning for things to be normal again.**

  


**The same things I saw when Sunset spread her god damn lies and everything came out.**

  


**“I can't,” I say. “I'm sorry.”**

  


**She sighs. “So am I.”**

  


**She pushes past me, heading for the door. I grab her arm.**

  


**“What happens now?” I ask.**

  


**“I'm going to talk to Sunset's friends. What happens after that is up to them... and you.”**

  


**She pulls her arm away and grabs her purse. When she turns to open the door, I grab the pendant, activating the magic. I reach out and touch her shoulder, sending the magic into her. She staggers and falls backwards. I catch her, then lift her up and carry her to the bedroom, laying her on the bed.**

  


**It's roughly the same thing I did to Sunset, but not as extreme. This should only put her to sleep for a few days. Long enough for me to finish what I started.**

  


**She'll hate me when she wakes up. She'll probably leave me. But she'll have justice, and that's what's important.**

  


**\---**

  


“I have never been so glad to be wrong,” said Rainbow Dash, collapsing back into Applejack's sofa. There were other expressions of relief from the other five girls. 

  


“Is she still going to be okay by herself, though?” Fluttershy asked.

  


Rarity nodded. “Miss Bookbinder appears to be taking her emergency contact duties seriously. She plans on being there every morning in case Sunset wakes up.”

  


“And in the afternoon?” Applejack asked.

  


“One of us will be there after school in case our enemy decides to make good on her threat.”

  


“Can't we tell the police?” Twilight asked. “I know we had to leave the mall, but if she does try to ki – finish Sunset off, some professional protection would be a good idea.”

  


“We'd have to explain the magic then,” Rarity answered. “And let's be honest, given what happened to us at the mall, it's unlikely the police will be able to deal with her.”

  


“If they looked at the security tapes, they'll already know about the magic,” said Rainbow.

  


“But we still don't know how it works,” Rarity insisted. “Only how it works for us. The police will have a lot more questions. Questions we don't have time to answer.”

  


“It's like that show about the lady detective with superpowers,” Applejack said. “We don't hide that we have magic, but we don't advertise if we can help it.”

  


“Regardless, until we take care of this situation, I don't think we should get any bystanders involved if we can avoid it. So that only leaves us to guard Sunset in the afternoon and evenings.”

  


“Will we be able to stay overnight?” Fluttershy asked. 

  


Rarity shrugged. “Probably not, but from what I understand, security tends to be greater overnight. Cold comfort, but better than nothing.”

  


“Well, I'll tell you what I wanna know,” said Pinkie, “Why would Miss Meanie go after Beachberry? I thought this was all about how much she hates Sunset?”

  


“That is a good question,” said Applejack. “Have we figured out what Beachberry has to do with all this?”

  


“Not really,” Rarity said. “Pinkie wasn't able to get any information out of her. But whatever problem she has with Sunset, it got her very agitated.”

  


Rarity's phone began ringing, playing the “Dance Magic” song that had won them and the Crystal Prep girls the music video contest. She picked it up and answered.

  


“Hello?”

  


“Rarity?” came Sour Sweet's voice.

  


“Oh hello, Sour Sweet.”

  


“At the mall, was that them?” Sour's voice was panicked.

  


“Yes, I'm afraid so,” Rarity answered. “Unfortunately, she got away.”

  


“She?” Sour asked. “So it's definitely a woman then?”

  


“We're fairly certain. Why?”

  


“Well, it means you can cross off the email Sunset got from the Chessblasters. Sugarcoat talked to them this afternoon. Jet Set sent it. Apparently, it was over some online match she and him played a few months ago.”

  


“He sent that filth because Sunset beat him at online chess?” Rarity shrieked, outraged. “What sort of sexist, chauvanistic – “

  


“I know,” Sour interrupted, her voice hard. “So does Principal Cadance. He's being dealt with. Word is he might even be expelled. The disciplinary committee hasn't decided yet.”

  


Rarity inhaled and exhaled through her nostrils. “Well, I certainly hope he gets what's coming to him. Thank you so much for looking into it, Sour, the girls and I really appreciate it.”

  


“Glad to do it. How's Sunset?”

  


“No change, I'm afraid.”

  


“Well, let me know if there's anything we can do, okay? Even if you guys just need to talk.”

  


“Thank you. We appreciate it.”

  


“All right, I have to go, but Rarity? Be careful.”

  


“We will. Thank you again, Sour Sweet.”

  


“See you.”

  


“You too.” Rarity ended the call and looked up at the girls. “The Chessblasters email came from a male student at Crystal Prep. As much as I hate to say it, it would seem that our mysterious nemesis does indeed have regular access to Canterlot High.”

  


“So what's the plan?” Rainbow asked. 

  


“Tomorrow, if she's up to it, we talk to Beachberry and find out what she has to do with all this. Applejack, I want you with me on that. Given Pinkie's difficulty in getting answers from her, we may need to be a little more... direct.”

  


“Can do. Just let me know when,” said Applejack. 

  


Fluttershy raised her hand. “Um, is there anything I can do? I feel like I haven't really been contributing to helping Sunset all that much.”

  


“I was just about to ask,” Rarity said. “Would you mind going to visit Sunset tomorrow after school? The rest of us will be along as soon as we can. Who knows, you might even be able to get through to her.”

  


Fluttershy nodded. “Anyone want to join me?”

  


“I have to work after school,” Rainbow said.

  


“Same here. Sorry, Flutters,” said Pinkie. 

  


“And my family's going out to dinner tomorrow night,” said Twilight. “Sorry.”

  


“Ah, don't fret about it, Twilight,” Applejack said. “I'll go with you, 'Shy. I'll have the truck tomorrow. I can drive you over there.”

  


“And I'll be over as soon as I can,” said Rarity.

  


Rainbow frowned. “What are you doing after school?”

  


“Depending on how things go with Beachberry, I'm going to have a little chat with our other two suspects.”


	9. Mind Games III

“There's something I don't understand about all of … this,” Sunset waved a hand, indicating the entire environment. She ignored the fact that she was still human and Celestia was an alicorn, deciding it was too weird to deal with at the present time.

  


Celestia sipped her tea and levitated her teacup back to the saucer on the table. “And that is?”

  


“I don't know what this actually is,” Sunset said. “I don't know much about comas, but what I've read seems to indicate most coma paitents don't dream. So what exactly _is_ this?”

  


“What do you think it is?” Celestia asked. Sunset gave her a look.

  


“No, let's not do the thing where you ask me questions about my questions and I end up answering them. What is this? Seriously.”

  


Celestia gave her a small smile. “All right. As I'm sure you've realized, this is not a traditional coma as defined by medical science.”

  


“So it's magic in nature,” Sunset sighed. “Which means all the normal rules are probably out the window.”

  


“They are. It would probably be best to think of this place as a magically enhanced form of your own mental landscape, created when you were attacked.”

  


“So how do I get out of here?” Sunset asked. “There has to be a way.”

  


“Unfortunately, the circumstances of the creation of this... realm, for want of a better word, prevent you from leaving it without some sort of external assistance.”

  


“External assistance?” 

  


“Someone out in the real world will need to figure out how to counteract the attack in order for you to wake up.”

  


“Great,” Sunset groaned. “I was hoping I'd just have some kind of personal inner revelation and wake up.”

  


“Sadly, life is not a bad student art film from the 1970s,” Celestia smirked. Sunset laughed, then blinked.

  


“Wait, I know you're not really Princess Celestia, but that's a reference I would never make. I've never seen any 1970s student art films.”

  


“Ah,” Celestia said. “I guess I did let that slip. You're correct, of course. I'm not entirely a construct of your mind.”

  


“Then who or what are you?”

  


Celestia didn't respond but gave Sunset an enigmatic smile. Sunset quirked an eyebrow.

  


“Oh, so this one I have to figure out on my own, huh?”

  


Celestia's smile didn't budge. Sunset sighed.

  


“Okay. So let's see here. This isn't a dream, but something similar comprised by the interaction of the magic and my mind. Correct?”

  


“Correct,” Celestia answered. 

Sunset nodded. “Okay. Therefore, it stands to reason that this place and everything that inhabits it is comprised of a mix of magic and something from my psyche. Memories, personality traits, my own sense of self.”

  


Sunset drummed her fingers on the table, her eyes staring off into the distance as she thought. “You admitted outright that you aren't really Celestia, which means that you probably aren't composed of a memory, outside of your appearance. So why would you manifest as Celestia, unless my mind associates her with some other aspect of your being?”

  


Celestia sipped her tea again. Sunset got up from the table and began pacing. 

  


“I associate the princess with knowledge, wisdom, learning, and magic. Wait?” Sunset whirled around to face her mentor. “You're the magic?”

  


Celestia smiled. “Not quite, but it's close enough. I am a projection of the Magic of Friendship created by your mind. This is actually quite unusual, even Princess Twilight's never been in this position.”

  


“I don't think the Princess of Friendship is likely to be attacked by people she's wronged in her past.” The sarcasm was evident in Sunset's voice. Celestia laughed.

  


“No, probably not.”

  


“So,” Sunset began, “If you're the magic, I have to ask. Why don't you work the same way as you do in Equestria?”

  


“That's a simple one. Different world. Different rules.”

  


“I figured that, but why the pony ears and tails? Why the geodes?”

  


“I am manifesting in many different ways in this world because right now, I am out of balance.”

  


“Out of balance?”

  


“Ever since the portal was created, I have been leaking through. But it was only a trickle. If you want to use a faucet analogy, imagine that I was leaking through one drop at a time, with each drop falling through every few years. When the portal opened, the drops became a trickle.”

  


“And when I brought the Element of Magic through, I turned the faucet on full blast.”

  


“More accurately, that happened when you tried to use the Element against Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia clarified. “Then, when the portal closed, the faucet, for want of a better term, wasn't closed all the way. The trickle was still happening, especially after Twilight figured out how to open the portal permanently. As a result, I am flowing into this world from Equestria on a small but consistent basis.”

  


“And the Friendship Games!” Sunset exclaimed. “Cross-dimensional rips must have brought more magic into the world.”

  


“Exactly,” said Celestia. “And so, I needed to try to balance the forces. Hence, the geodes.”

  


“And things are still out of balance, which is why you're running rampant,” Sunset concluded. “But, I have to ask, why are you corrupting anyone else who encounters you?”

  


“Magic isn't inherently good or evil, you should remember that from your time in Equestria,” Celestia replied. “In the case of friendship magic, it's empathic in nature. When you and your friends are in harmony with yourselves and each other, beneficial things happen. But if someone who isn't in harmony gets ahold of something I inhabit, well, you've seen what happens.”

  


“But why us? No,” Sunset stopped herself. “I know why the other girls. They're the counterparts to the Element bearers in Equestria. Why me?”

  


Celestia smiled and stood. She walked over and leaned her head in close to Sunset's own. 

  


“Because, Sunset, you – “

  


Sunset was thrown back as a bold of dark energy connected with Celestia. The alicorn let out a high pitched scream which was abruptly cut off as she exploded into a multi-colored cloud which quickly dissipated. The force of the explosion hurled Sunset backwards. She crashed to the ground and let out a cry of pain. 

  


She sat up and stared in disbelief at the scorch mark where Celestia once stood. “Princess?”

  


“Sorry, got tired of her blathering.”

  


Sunset whirled around and she grit her teeth at the sight of her dark reflection standing behind her. The reflection had her arms folded. She raised her right hand and waved.

  


“Told you we weren't done yet.” 


	10. That Night

Night fell over the city. For six friends, it had been an exhausting day, full of hard questions and very few answers. 

  


Applejack sat on her bed, idly strumming her bass, lost in thought. The whole situation made her angry. Sunset made mistakes in the past, but her efforts to change that counted a lot more to the farm girl. 

  


Applejack's expression softened as she started remembering the times she had spent with Sunset. Just after the Fall Formal, Sunset had been plagued by nightmares about her demon self. Pinkie had set up a week long series of sleepovers, where each girl spent the night with Sunset. The company seemed to help Sunset with the nightmares, as well as give each of them a chance to get to know her.

  


Applejack found Sunset's stories about Equestria fascinating. She'd never admit it out loud (and definitely not in front of Rainbow Dash), but she still loved fairy tales, and hearing about Equestria's princesses, monsters, dragons, and other magical creatures made her feel like a kid again. Sunset also proved to be pretty good at video games, and unlike Rainbow, Sunset look losing gracefully. During that sleepover, the two girls had cemented a true friendship, even to the point of Applejack telling Sunset something she hadn't admitted to anyone before.

  


But memories weren't solving the current problem. She put her bass back on the stand and got out her phone. She sent a text to her friends.

  


**Hey, anybody free to talk?**

  


After a few moments, her phone rang. She swiped the screen to answer it.

  


“Hey, Fluttershy,” she said.

  


“Hi, Applejack. Is everything okay?”

  


“I dunno, sugarcube,” Applejack leaned back against the headboard. “I keep thinkin' there's somethin' more I should be doin' to help Sunset.”

  


“I know the feeling,” Fluttershy replied. “The other girls seem to finding out all these things, and aside from taking care of Ray and finding the scrapbook, I haven't really done anything.”

  


“There's gotta be somethin' else we can do besides just being the moral support!”

  


“But what? We still don't know who attacked Sunset, and Rarity, Rainbow, and Twilight are the only ones who've even seen her.”

  


“'Tain't fair!” Applejack snapped. “Sunset doesn't deserve this. She's changed, and everybody knows it. And it just galls me that there's still people at school who still won't see her as anything but the bad guy! She worked so damn hard for this and it seems like no sooner does she get back up than somebody comes along to knock her down again! 

  


“What if this time, she can't get back up? I don't wanna lose her. I don't wanna lose any of you again.” Applejack's voice hitched and she wiped her eyes. “I'm scared, Fluttershy. I'm scared we're all in over our heads, and without Sunset, I don't rightly know if we can win this one.”

  


“We're not going to lose,” Fluttershy's voice was calm, but determined. “I'm just as scared as you are, Applejack, but I know that as long as we stick together, we'll find a way to beat whoever this is, and bring Sunset back. Don't lose hope.”

  


Applejack smiled. “Thanks, Fluttershy. I just needed to get that off my chest.”

  


“No problem. Are you still going with me to the hospital tomorrow?”

  


“Yep. Meet you at the statue out front after school?”

  


“Sounds good. See you tomorrow!”

  


“Night, sugarcube.”

  


“Good night, Applejack.”

  


\---

  


Twilight poured through the copies of the emails. Even though they were sure the woman from the mall either attended or worked at CHS, she still felt obligated to finish the job she promised to do. She had managed to eliminate over half of the emails as duplicates of another message in the stack. As for the ones which all seemed to be written by the same person, she had tracked them to the same source: a computer which had been connected to several of the same wi-fi networks, but the majority of the connections had been at Canterlot High, further confirming the girls' theory.

  


Twilight yawned and looked at the clock. It was almost ten. She'd been at this for most of the night. Spike looked up from where he was napping on the bed and follwed her gaze to the clock.

  


“C'mon, Twilight, time to call it a day,” he said. 

  


Twilight leaned back in her chair and sighed. “Yeah, you're probably right, Spike. I think I've done just about all I can with these emails. Let me just get this all cleaned up and we'll turn in.”

  


Twilight gathered up the papers scattered across her desk, organizing them according to source. When she had most of them in neat stacks, one fell off the edge of her desk. Twilight sighed and leaned over to grab it. When she leaned back up, she glanced down at it, and blinked.

  


“What?” Twilight looked closer at the email. Unlike the others, there were no headers with this one. The address in the “From” field was a series of letters and numbers and came from a free website based email service. But it was the message itself which held Twilight's attention, because it was completely different from all the others. Four words:

  


**I forgive you, Sunset.**

  


“When did she get this one?” Twilight asked. She looked at the date on the email. “This is way before I came to CHS. In fact … “ Twilight trailed off and grabbed her phone.

  


“Rainbow? It's Twilight. When was the Battle of the Bands? Uh-huh. What about the Fall Formal? Okay. I'm not sure. I need to check a couple of things. I'll talk to everyone tomorrow if I find anything out. Thanks, Rainbow. Good night!”

  


Twilight hung up and turned back to her computer. Spike jumped off the bed, walked over and put his paws on her foot. 

  


“Twilight? I thought you were going to bed?”

  


Twilight shook her head. “Sorry, Spike, but this one's just so weird, I can't help but think it's tied to all of this somehow. I need to figure out where it came from!”

  


Spike sighed and curled up at Twilight's feet. “I'll be here if you need me.”

  


\---

  


Rarity let out a sigh of frustration and tossed the latest Shadow Spade novel onto her nightstand. She couldn't focus on fictional mysteries when she had a real life one right in front of her.

  


_Not that I seem to be making any headway on this mystery either._

  


She got out of bed and went to her sewing machine. She didn't want to wake anyone else in the house, so she picked up a needle and thread and began piecing fabric together. Her fingers worked subconsciously, while her brain began working on another level.

  


_All right, let's play “What Do We Know?” We know that someone, most likely someone at CHS, still has a grudge against Sunset. We also know that person has acquired magic somehow._

  


Rarity's brow furrowed. Her fingers began working the needle and thread faster as her mind raced.

  


_We know Sunset has been the target of constant cyberbullying at least since the Anon-A-Miss incident, possibly even earlier. We know the identities of four of those who sent that trash to her: Moondancer, Firecracker Burst, Beachberry, and Jet Set. We know that the culprit is a woman. Therefore, Jet Set is eliminated. We also know she attacked Beachberry at the mall, so obviously it can't be her. Why, exactly, she attacked Beachberry we don't know. Yet._

  


_Unless Twilight finds some compelling evidence to the contrary in the rest of the emails, our most likely suspects are Moondancer and Firecracker Burst. Both admit to sending nasty messages to Sunset, but Moondancer claims to be a pacifist, and Firecracker claims she believes in Sunset's reformation._

  


_Someone is lying._

  


Rarity put her sewing down and stood up. She walked over to her other bedroom window and looked out at the night sky. She glanced over towards the center of town, where the hospital was. 

  


_Oh, Sunset, I wish you were here. You were always so analytical. If it had been one of us in your position, you would have found the guilty party by now._

  


She folded her arms and looked up at the moon. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she turned back to the nightstand. While Sunset wasn't available, and Twilight was most likely asleep, there was one other person, or rather, princess she could turn to.

  


Rarity opened the nightstand drawer and pulled out Sunset's Equestria journal. She sat on her bed and began writing on a blank page.

  


_Twilight? Are you there? It's Rarity._

  


She sat back and waited. It was possible it was late in Equestria and Princess Twilight was asleep. After a while, she concluded no reply would come tonight and went to put the journal away. Just as she sat up, there was a flash of violet light from the journal and Rarity watches as text began to form on the page.

  


**Yes, I'm here! I'm sorry for the delay. I was in the other room. Has something happened? Is Sunset all right?**

  


Rarity smiled. She grabbed her pen and began writing back.

  


_Unfortunately, there hasn't been any change in Sunset's condition. On the plus side, the doctor is allowing us to visit her starting tomorrow. Fluttershy and Applejack will be seeing her tomorrow._

  


**Well, that's good. What about the investigation? Any idea who's responsible?**

  


_No, but we do have suspects._

  


Rarity wrote down everything they had found out so far, including the cyberbullying evidence and the encounter at the mall. She made sure to include every detail she could remember about the fight with the woman in the black coat, focusing on the odd attack on Beachberry and the magical lightning the woman had hurled. She sat back when she finished and waited for the reply.

  


**Looking at all this, I can say that whoever it is, you're going to have to be careful. She seems to have a lot of raw power at her disposal. It's entirely possible she could cause serious injury to you all in a head to head fight. But, I think I can offer you some good news despite that.**

  


_And that is?_

  


**I don't think she has as much control of it as she thinks. Lightning is almost always the form unchanneled magic takes. She's using it like a club. A lot of force, but no precision. It may be that she intended to kill Sunset, but somehow only succeeded in putting her into the coma.**

  


Rarity looked at the statement, then wrote back with a wry smile.

  


_The idea that murder may have been her intention has occurred to me, darling._ Rarity tacked on a smiley face to indicate she was making a joke. After a moment, Twilight responded.

  


**I will never get used to the fact you humans have figured out how to create shorthoof for emotions in text.** Twilight's reply ended with a pony version of the same smiley face. After another moment, Twilight's reply continued.

  


**In any event, if she is using raw magic against you, you can probably use that to your advantage. But be careful, Rarity. It sounds like she gets agitated easily, and with the unpredictable nature of the magic on that side of the mirror, plus what you've told me here, it could be that her emotional state affects the power she has.**

  


_So the angrier she gets, the more powerful her magic?_

  


**It's a possibility. Are you sure you don't want me or Starlight to come through to help?**

  


_You have responsibilities in Equestria. But, I promise, if it looks like we're in over our heads, we'll send for both of you._

The next response took a couple of minutes to come.

  


**All right. I'm not happy with this decision, but I'll abide by your wishes. But, PLEASE, be careful, Rarity. I care as much about all of you over there as I do about your counterparts over here. I don't want anything to happen to you all.**

  


Rarity smiled. _Thank you, Twilight. And we'll be careful._

  


**Do me a favor then? Write me a message every day so I know you're all okay? Just until this is over.**

  


_I will. Thank you for taking the time to chat, Twilight. It's helped._

  


**Anytime.**

  


_I really must get to bed. We need to talk to Beachberry tomorrow, plus I have to figure out how to approach things with Moondancer and Firecracker Burst._

  


**I have some advice. I'm friends with Moondancer over here. We had a falling out, but we managed to reconnect after I realized what a horrible friend I was to her back when I lived in Canterlot. If she's anything like my Moondancer was when I went to apologize to her, she'll probably do everything she can to brush you off. Try not to get hostile with her. Instead, see if you can figure out why she's acting the way she is. It might help you get through her shell.**

  


_That's very helpful, Twilight. Thank you._

  


**You're welcome. Now, I better let you get to bed. Good luck tomorrow, Rarity.**

  


_Good night, Twilight._

  


**Good night, Rarity.**

  


Rarity closed the journal and put it back on the nightstand. She climbed under the covers and cuddled up to her pillows. There were challenges ahead, but talking to Princess Twilight made her feel much better about their chances.

  


_We'll find her. And we'll get Sunset back._

  


_\---_

  


Rainbow Dash hung up her phone after her brief conversation with Twilight. She reached back to her nightstand for her copy of _Daring Do and the Secret of the Baltimare Menace,_ when her phone started ringing again. She sighed and answered.

  


“Rainbow Dash, whatcha want?” she asked.

  


“Um... yes? This is Jalepeno Jelly, Rainbow. Pepperdance's mom?”

  


Rainbow sat up. “Oh, hi, Mrs. Jelly! Sorry about that.”

  


“Oh, that's fine.” 

  


Rainbow frowned. Something about Pepperdance's mother seemed off. “Is everything okay?”

  


“Have you seen Pepperdance tonight? She said she was going to visit some friends after school, but she hasn't come home yet.”

  


“Who was she supposed to meet?” 

  


“Lyra and Bon Bon. I called them earlier. They said they met her at Sugarcube Corner, but she said she had something to do and left about an hour later. Nobody I've talked to has seen her since. I haven't gotten any calls or texts from her.”

  


“Wish I could help,” Rainbow said, “But I haven't heard from her since school either. Sorry. If I hear from her, I'll be sure to tell her to head home, or check in, or something.”

  


“Thank you, Rainbow. Have a good night.”

  


“Yeah, thanks Mrs. Jelly.”

  


Pepperdance's mother ended the call. Rainbow reluctantly put her phone down and picked up her book. She opened to her bookmarked place and tried to read. Unfortunately, the words wouldn't register in her brain. Her attention kept drifting back to the phone call, and it wasn't until she realized she had been reading the same sentence for the last five minutes that she finally tossed the book aside and picked up her phone.

  


“C'mon, Pepps, pick up,” she muttered as the phone rang. Eventually, the call went to voice mail. 

  


“Yeah, Pepps, it's Rainbow. Your mom is really worried about you. Get home, or call her and let her know your okay, yeah? Talk to you later.”

  


Rainbow frowned in thought, then called another number. “Pinkie? Rainbow. Listen, you know everything about everybody, any idea what Pepperdance's Thursday nights are usually like? Uh-huh. Listen, Pinks, can you borrow your sister's car? Mom and Dad are having a date night tonight. 

  


“Yeah, we're going to find Pepperdance.”

  


\---

  


Rainbow and Pinkie came to a stop across the street from the Hey! Burger a couple of blocks south of Canterlot High. Rainbow looked as the lights in the restaurant began going out.

  


“You're sure this is where she works?” she asked.

  


“Absolutely-tootly!” Pinkie chirped. “She traded shifts with Flitter so she could have Saturday off to spend the day with you!”

  


“And you know that how?”

  


“Flitter told me when she had to reschedule our bi-quarterly pie eating contest.”

  


“Wait, you and Flitter have bi-quarterly pie eating – never mind,” Rainbow said, turning her attention back to the restaurant. “Are you sure she's even here? I mean, you would think her mom would know if she was working tonight.”

  


Pinkie pointed. “Well, if she's not working tonight, why is she hiding in the shadows over there at the gas station next door?”

  


Rainbow gaped. “Why didn't you say something?!” 

  


She didn't bother waiting for an answer, instead getting out of the car and running across the street. Pinkie got out of the car and followed.

  


Rainbow didn't waste any time, grabbing Pepperdance's arm. “There you are!”

  


“Rainbow Dash!” Pepperdance cried. “What are you doing?”

  


“Looking for you! Your mom's losing her mind wondering where you are!”

  


“I know,” Pepperdance said, looking at the ground. “But I needed to come here without anyone knowing. Honestly, if I'd been thinking, I would have insisted we do this somewhere else.” 

  


“Do what?” Rainbow asked.

  


Pepperdance looked at her, then sighed. “I guess you guys were going to find out eventually. Look, I kinda saw what happened to Sunset the other night.”

  


“So that's how everyone knew what had happened! You put the word out!” Pinkie exclaimed.

  


“Yeah,” said Pepperdance. “I saw the woman in the overcoat hurling magic and chasing Sunset. I followed them and saw them next to the maitenance corridors.”

  


“And she zapped Sunset, right?” Rainbow asked.

  


“Yeah, but just before that, her hat fell off. She looked different, but I was sure I had seen her before. It hit me earlier today, but I wanted to be sure. So I called her and asked to meet her to be sure. She told me to meet her here.”

  


“Called who?” Rainbow asked. “Who did you think you saw?”

  


Pinkie suddenly twitched so hard, her head painfully shot to the left. She quickly tackled the two other girls to the ground. “DUCK!”

  


A bolt of pink lighting shot out of the darkness, striking the side of the gas station. Shards of brick spattered around them. The three of them looked up to see the woman in the black overcoat standing on the sidewalk. She raised her hands, sparking with more magic, and hurled more bolts towards them.

  


The three rolled out of the way and scrabbled to their feet. Pepperdance ran off in a panic. The woman sneered at Rainbow and Pinkie Pie and took off after her, moving with a surprising amount of speed. 

  


“Not this time!” Rainbow cried. She turned to Pinkie. “Call the girls!”

  


She grabbed her geode and activated it. She took off in a multi-colored blur, closing the distance. The woman looked behind her and raised a hand to her throat. Rainbow frowned and poured on the speed, which is when the woman in black did something unexpected.

  


She stopped running.

  


Rainbow zoomed past her and dug her heels into the ground, trying to cancel her momentum. She shot past Pepperdance, who also came to a halt as the rainbow blur threw her off her stride. Rainbow skidded to a halt and spun around. Her eyes widened in horror.

  


“Pepperdance! Look out!”

  


Pepperdance turned and let out a cry of pain as she was hit with a bolt of magic. She collapsed to the ground. Rainbow felt sick as she heard the girl's skull hit the concrete with a loud crack.She snarled as the woman in black came into view.

  


The woman looked down at Pepperdance, then up at Rainbow. She grinned, gave Rainbow a mocking salute, then vanished in another bolt of lightning that shot away down the street. 

  


Rainbow cursed and rushed back to Pepperdance. She kneeled down and her expression softened. Pepperdance was out cold. Worse yet, when Rainbow lifted her off the ground, the hair on the back of Pepperdance's hair was sticky. 

  


“I called for an ambulance!” Pinkie said, rushing up. “Is she okay?”

  


“I don't know!” Rainbow cried. “She's not waking up, and there's blood and I – I don't know what to do!”

  


She held her friend closer, not noticing or caring that tears were rolling down her cheeks. “I'm sorry, Pepps, I'm so sorry!”

  


A siren became audible in the distance. Pinkie kneeled down and held Rainbow as they waited for help to arrive.


	11. Mourning After

“This has to stop.”

  


The music room was empty except for five girls who were all feeling the same sensations of failure and dread. Fluttershy looked at her friends and repeated herself.

  


“This has to stop. It's too dangerous now. This – this isn't like what we've done before. This isn't something from Equestria trying to take over the world, or people playing with power they don't understand,” Fluttershy's fists clenched tightly as her voice rose in volume. “This is someone who is using the magic to try to _kill_ people! First Sunset, then Beachberry, and now Pepperdance!”

  


“We all get that, Fluttershy,” Applejack began, but the other girl cut her off.

  


“I don't think you do, Applejack! Sunset's only alive by sheer luck, and if some of us hadn't been there when Beachberry and Pepperdance were attacked, they'd both probably be dead now! And without Sunset, we don't know if our magic will be enough to stop her! If we try to take her on...” 

  


Fluttershy trailed off and she slumped in her chair, her hair falling over her face. “I don't want anyone to die. I don't want any of _you_ to die.”

  


The other four girls exchanged glances. Rarity pulled a chair over to face Fluttershy. She reached over and took her friend's hands.

  


“Look at me, Fluttershy,” she said gently. She waited until Fluttershy looked up, and gave her a small smile. “You're absolutely right. This does have to stop. But who can we hope to stop her? The police aren't prepared for any sort of magical force like this. Sunset isn't available. And I know we don't dare put Princess Twilight in danger. So that only leaves us. We have to stop this. It's our responsibility. You understand that, right?”

  


Fluttershy sniffled and nodded. “But I'm so scared. I know, I know. Big surprise.”

The other girls were shocked at the almost bitter tone Fluttershy's voice had taken, but they wisely said nothing, letting her say what was on her mind.

  


“But I'm not scared for me. I'm scared for everyone who'll be left if we lose. What if whoever this is beats us? What happens then? I – I don't think she'll stop at us,” Fluttershy's head rose, her eyes wide enough for the others to see the terror in her eyes.

  


“I think she might kill the entire world if she's not stopped.”

  


There was an awkward silence as the girls tried to figure out how to respond. It was Applejack who broke the silence.

  


“Then we need to figure out who it is and put an end to all this. But first things first.”

  


She turned to Pinkie who was more subdued than usual, sitting on a chair and idly toying with one of her drumsticks. 

  


“Pinkie? How's Rainbow and Pepperdance?”

  


Pinkie sighed. “Pepperdance is in the hospital. She hasn't woken up yet either. It doesn't look like she's in a coma like Sunset though. But the police took her phone as evidence, so we couldn't get a chance to check her call log to see who she talked to yesterday.”

  


“And Rainbow?” Twilight asked. 

  


Pinkie just shrugged. “She wasn't good when I saw her last. Her parents took her home and said she wouldn't be at school today. I tried calling her this morning, but she didn't answer.”

  


Rarity let out an exhausted sigh. “I can't say I blame her. She's known Pepperdance since elementary school. Pinkie, would you be up to visiting her this afternoon with me?”

“Yeah, sure,” Pinkie said, unenthusiatically. The other girls exchanged a worried glance, unused to seeing their friend so quiet. 

  


“Er... Twilight,” Rarity began, “Any luck with those emails?”

  


“Oh, right,” Twilight opened her backpack and pulled out the sheaf of emails. “Eliminating those we know can't be her, I'm fairly confident that most of the cyberbullying Sunset received came from someone here at Canterlot High. And as I thought, about half of these emails all came from the same set of IP addresses. I can't say with 100% certainty, of course, but I think we can be reasonably sure that the same person sent these messages. But here's the really interesting one.”

  


Twilgiht pulled out the email she had found the night before and handed it to Applejack. The cowgirl's eyebrow raised and she handed it to Rarity, who stared at it, unbelieving. The email was passed around to the other girls, with similar expressions of surprise. 

  


“I tried figuring out where it came from, but I, uh, kind of fell asleep at my desk,” Twilight blushed in embarassment. “But I still thought you should see this.”

  


“I don't get it,” Applejack said, “Why would Sunset keep this email with the others?”

  


“I'm not sure,” Twilight answered. “But it clearly has some sort of significance to her. Maybe she thought it was sarcastic, or a set up for another wave of nasty letters.”

  


“Can you figure out where it came from?” Rarity asked. “I don't know if it's relevant to what's going on, but it might give us another lead.”

  


“I'll need more time. There were no headers with this one and the email address seems to have been randomly generated by the website. I might be able to work it out, but I'm not confident.”

  


“Then we go back to our original plan for now,” Rarity said. “Does anyone know if Beachberry's back at school today?”

  


“I saw her earlier this morning,” Fluttershy said. “It looks like her arm is broken.”

  


“Better a broken arm than anything else,” said Applejack. She looked at Rarity. “Still wanna go with the original plan?”

  


“We'll be less intense than originally planned, but we definitely need some answers from her.” Rarity pulled out her phone. “Assuming her schedule is still the same, we'll talk to her in the computer lab this afternoon. Then after school, before Pinkie and I go see Rainbow Dash, I'll have a word with Moondancer.”

  


“You think you're gonna get any answers out of her?”

  


“Princess Twilight is friends with her Equestrian counterpart. She gave me some advice on how to handle her. We'll see if it works.”

  


“What about Firecracker Burst?”

  


“Given what happened to Rainbow, I think we may need to postpone her interview until tomorrow.”

  


“You need me for backup with Moondancer?” 

  


“No,” said Rarity. “You and Fluttershy head to the hospital to visit Sunset as we planned. We've been away from her long enough. I'll be by as soon as I can.”

“Sounds good,” Applejack replied. She looked at the other girls. “Look, y'all, I know this ain't what we hoped would happen and we're up against someone who definitely is more dangerous than anything we've dealt with, but we can't fall apart now. If we give up, she wins, and I know we ain't gonna leave Sunset behind like this, right?”

  


“Right!” Rarity said firmly.

  


Twilight nodded. “Right.”

  


“Right,” said Fluttershy, after wiping her eyes.

  


The girls looked over at Pinkie, who blinked and looked up. “Huh?”

  


“Pinkie, darling,” Rarity's voice was filled with concern. “Did you get any sleep last night?”

  


“Not really,” Pinkie murmured. 

  


“Are you sure you're up for school today?”

  


“I'm fine,” Pinkie replied, her voice flat. 

  


The bell rang and the hallway outside the door began filling with the sounds of students. Pinkie stood up and grabbed her backpack. “I'll see you after school, Rarity.”

  


She trudged out of the room and joined the throng of students. The others exchanged another worried glance.

  


“I think we better keep an eye on her,” Applejack said.

  


“I agree,” replied Rarity. “I'll try to find out what's going on when we go see Rainbow this afternoon. Twilight, you have a few classes with her, don't you?”

  


Twilight nodded. “I'll make sure she meets up with you later. I better go catch up.”

  


She grabbed her own backpack and left the music room. The remaining three girls stood up themselves. Fluttershy rushed over and hugged both Rarity and Applejack. Her friends returned the hug.

  


“It's gonna be okay, sugarcube,” Applejack whispered into Fluttershy's ear. “I promise.”

  


Fluttershy released her friends, gave them a small smile and left the music room. Rarity and Applejack sighed and looked at each other.

  


“We're in over our heads, ain't we?” Applejack asked.

  


“Yes, I'm afraid we are. But what else can we do?”

  


Applejack nodded. “The best we can, Rares. The best we can.”

<


	12. Mind Games IV

Sunset didn't even dignify her reflection's appearance with a response. Instead, she hurled herself towards her reflection, tackling her other self to the ground.

  


“You killed her!” Sunset screamed. She drew back a fist and smashed it into her doppelganger's cheek. “I never wanted that! Ever!”

  


Sunset drew her fist back and brought it down again and again. Her reflection didn't make a sound. Eventually, Sunset's rage exhausted itself and she leaned back, breathing heavily. She blinked and looked down at her handiwork.

  


There wasn't a mark on her reflection. Its eyes snapped open, once again with black corneas and aquamarine irises. It grinned at her.

  


“You can't lie to me,” it said. “I know you've wanted to kill her. To take what you felt was rightfully yours.”

  


Sunset's expression hardened. “No, I did not. Not even at my worst did I ever want Celestia dead.”

  


The reflection barked out a short, sharp laugh. “Sure you didn't. Suppose you had taken over Equestria. What were you going to do with her?”

  


Sunset didn't answer. Her lip began to curl in anger. Her fist clenched again. The reflection noticed.

  


“Go ahead,” it said. “Do it. Do it and be rid of me for good.”

  


Sunset glared down at it. It did nothing but smile at her, its grin wide and dangerous. Sunset's frown of anger turned instead to a look of suspicion. She lowered her fist and stood up.

  


“No,” she said. 

  


The reflection also got to its feet. “'No?' Why?”

  


“Because it's what you want. You want me to give in, and do what you want just so you can prove yourself right. Or is that it?”

  


The reflection actually looked surprised. “What?”

  


Sunset looked at the reflection with a puzzled expression. “What do you want? What's the point of all this? You say you want me to revert to what I was, but that can't be it. It's too obvious, and it's been too long. Yes, I still feel terrible about what I did, but I've learned to live with it. And no matter how much you make me relive every rotten thing I've ever done, it won't make me break. My past is not today.”

  


The reflection made a puking noise. “Oh, spare me _that_ bullshit. Everyone remembers what you did. No one really forgets the truly horrible things someone does. They're remembered, catalogued, saved to bring out when the person least expects it.”

  


“Some people are like that. Not me. Not anymore,” Sunset said. She turned from her reflection and began to walk away.

  


“Where do you think you're going?!” the reflection demanded.

  


“Away from you. I don't know what you want, and frankly, I don't care. I need to wake up and get out of here.”

Sunset continued walking, keeping her eyes locked ahead of her. She ignored the shouting coming from behind her, determined to keep moving.

  


A bolt of dark magic crashed into her back. Pain radiated up her spine and exploded in her brain. She let out a scream and fell forward, landing hard on her face. She groaned and began to get up, only to feel a booted foot slam down on her back. Sunset cried out again, as the reflection dug its foot between her shoulder blades.

  


“You're _never_ getting out of here. You and me, doing this hour after hour, day after day, until the day this pathetic husk of a brain finally decays and you drop dead!” 

  


Sunset let out more cries of agony as the reflection pounded her spine on each of the last two words. The reflection grinned sadistically as tears began forming in Sunset's eyes.

  


“That's right,” it crowed. “That's what I want. I want you to suffer. I want you to bleed. I want to make you feel miserable about every decision you ever made. That's what I want, Sunset Shimmer.”

  


Sunset turned her head so she could see the reflection out of the corner of her eye. “Why?”

  


“I'm amazed you even have to ask. I hate you. I hate what you've done. I hate who you are. I hate your insipid friends. I hate that everyone seems to love you now despite the fact that I know what you really are! I hate that you're still alive! I hate that you keep succeeding where in any just universe you would be rotting in the ground!”

  


Sunset's cries started up again as the reflection began stomping and kicking her over and over again. “I hate you! I HATE YOU! I! HATE! YOU!”

  


For the first time since waking up in her mindscape, Sunset's vision started to fade at the edges. The pain was more or less constant and the litany of hate dug into her ears. Sunset felt her strength begin to fade.

  


“Sunset?!” came two voices she never expected to hear. Sunset's eyes shot open and she stared at the images of Fluttershy and Applejack. They weren't solid, like the reflection, but translucent, cloaked in yellow and orange auras. 

  


“What?!” the reflection snarled, stopping her assault. 

  


“Get your filthy boots off her, you... you... cheap knock-off!” Fluttershy shouted.

  


“I dunno what you are, but you ain't hurtin' our friend anymore!” yelled Applejack. 

  


“No, girls, don't!” Sunset cried. She forced her bruised body to its feet and staggered towards her friends. 

  


“Yes, girls,” the reflection grinned, raising its hand. Dark magic crackled around its fingers.   
“Don't.”

  


The magic shot forward. Applejack and Fluttershy gasped and threw up their arms. Bolts of orange and yellow energy shot from the auras around them. The two magics collided mid-air and exploded. Sunset dashed toward her friends, arms outstretched.

  


“C'mon Sunset, we're all waitin' for you!” Applejack cheered. She and Fluttershy held out their hands, waiting to rescue their friend. 

  


“NO. YOU. _DON'T!_ ” came an inhuman roar from behind her. Sunset glanced behind her to see the reflection had become her demon self. The demon took to the air and rushed towards her. Sunset forced her legs to run faster.

  


The demon tackled her at high speed. The two rolled across the ground, pushing and clawing at each other. They came to rest with the demon on top. It grinned down at Sunset.

  


“Time for your friends to go now!” It hurled another bolt of dark magic at Applejack and Fluttershy. The two sent out bolts of their own, but the dark bolt twuisted and writhed around them and collided with Sunset's friends. Sunset stared in horror as Applejack and Fluttershy screamed and vanished in a flash of violet light. She stood in silence, staring at the space where her friends had once been. 

  


“Now,” the demon sneered. “Where were we?”

  


Sunset felt her nails digging into her palms. Her teeth clenched so tightly she was half expecting them to shatter. She whirled around, her eyes locking on the demon. She began stalking slowly towards her adversary.

  


“We were going to finish this,” she snarled.


	13. Rarity Interrogates

“What the hell do _you_ want?” Beachberry asked when she looked up from the monitor to find Rarity and Applejack standing next to the desk.

  


“Answers,” stated Applejack.

  


“Quite right,” added Rarity. “And I believe, considering Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and myself assisted in preventing you from being injured any worse than you already are, that you might be more inclined to answer our questions than you were yesterday.”

  


Beachberry's expression was blank. “You believe wrong. Oh, and thanks for actually checking on me before you chased after the other magical freak.”

  


An uncomfortable expression crossed Rarity's face. Seeing her friend's distress, Applejack jumped in.

  


“Look, I know you don't like Sunset, and you really have no reason to talk to us, but whoever attacked you is still out there, and she's getting worse. You hear what happened to Pepperdance last night?”

  


Beachberry frowned. “No. What happened?”

  


“Our mutual enemy attacked her. And unlike your encounter, she succeeded this time,” Rarity answered, regaining her composure. 

  


Beachberry's frown deepened. “Is she all right?”

  


“Not sure,” Applejack pushed her hat back on her head. “She's alive, at least. But we don't know much more than that.”

  


Beachberry leaned back in her chair. Rarity came around the desk and sat in the chair at the next computer. 

  


“I know you don't like Sunset, and I'm not here to plead on her behalf. But you've been attacked, and both Sunset and Pepperdance are in the hospital. Whoever is doing this is getting worse. Unless we find out who she is and stop her, it's very likely someone is going to die as a result of her actions. So, please, tell us anything you can. Anything that might help us understand why this is happening.”

  


Beachberry sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Pinkie made a mistake when she talked to me yesterday. Sunset didn't do anything to me just before the Fall Formal. I did something to _her._ ”

  


Applejack and Rarity exchaned surprised glances. Applejack folded her arms. “Go on.”

  


“I got curious about what her deal was and I began doing some digging online. And I found absolutely nothing. No school records, no birth certificate, nothing. Of course, I figured this meant that she was an illegal alien, and maybe if I threatened to expose her, it would get her to back off on the rest of the school. So I confronted her with what I knew.”

  


The tri-toned girl sighed again. “I should have known better. In trying to dig up dirt on her, I kind of accessed a bunch of government databases I shouldn't have. And the day after I told her I was going to expose her, she came back with solid evidence that I had hacked into those databases. So, we cut a deal.”

  


“Mutually assured destruction,” Rarity said. Beachberry nodded.

  


“We both agreed to leave each other alone and to not use the information we had on each other. And after the Fall Formal, it really wasn't a problem. But I was still pissed about how she had gotten one over on me, so... yeah, I kept sending her messages just to get under her skin. I guess I wasn't as careful with the one Pinkie showed me.”

  


Rarity frowned and reached into her bag. She pulled out a few of the emails Twilight said came from the same person, despite the different email accounts and IP addresses. “Are these some of them?”

  


Beachberry took the emails and thumbed through them. She looked up at the other two girls with a suspicious expression.

  


“We won't tell anyone you sent them,” Rarity said. She looked up at Applejack, who quirked an eyebrow at her. Rarity gave her a look and thrust her head in Beachberry's direction a couple of times, indicating the farm girl should agree. Applejack rolled her eyes and sighed. 

  


“Oh, all right,” Applejack said. “We won't rat you out, but Principal Celestia has all the emails Sunset saved. So if she figures out you sent them all, you're on your own. Fair?”

  


“Fine,” Beachberry said. “Yes, most of these are mine. I did it to keep her from tracking me down.”

  


“What about Firecracker Burst?” Applejack asked. “She told Pinkie she helped you out after you and Sunset got into it before the Formal.”

  


“I didn't go to her. She sought me out. Wanted me to cry on her shoulder and all that touchy-feely garbage. She wouldn't let it go, so I pretended to be all broken up about it so she'd leave me the hell alone.”

  


She handed back the emails. “So that's it. That's all I know. I don't know who the woman was who attacked me at the mall, and I don't know why she has a mad on for me.”

  


Rarity looked thoughtful. “You say you got into some government databases when you were looking to blackmail Sunset?”

  


Beachberry shifted in her seat. “I don't know if I'd use the term 'blackmail – '”

  


“I would,” Applejack stated. Beachberry shot her a dirty look.

  


“But yeah,” she said, “I did. Why?”

  


Rarity paged through the emails, pulling out the one forgiving Sunset. “We found this one, but there's no headers and the address seems to be randomly generated. Is there anyway you can find out who sent it?”

  


Beachberry took the email and looked at it. “I've dealt with this site before. I might be able to figure it out.” She looked up. “What's in it for me?”

  


“Not reporting you right now to Principal Celestia for what you did seems like plenty to me,” Applejack frowned.

  


“Applejack,” Rarity said, her voice holding a warning note. “If you can help us with this, Beachberry, and if everything comes out, we'll put in a word with Principal Celestia for you, asking her to be lenient. It will still be her decision, of course, but we'll do what we can.”

  


Beachberry considered for a moment. “I guess that's the best I can hope for. Give me your number. I'll call you tonight if I find anything out.”

  


Rarity gave Beachberry her number, and shot a smug smile at Applejack. The cowgirl rolled her eyes again and leaned down.

  


“Y'all are just lovin' this, ain't you?”

  


“Perhaps a little,” Rarity whispered back. Her smile turned into a grin. “Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I am!”


	14. Moon Dancing

The last bell rang, freeing the students of Canterlot High for their much anticipated weekend. Plans were made. Groups of friends left the campus for after school fun. Club members got together for meetings.

  


Moondancer put her laptop into her shoulder bag, made sure she had her homework as well, then closed her locker. She jumped as she realized Rarity was waiting behind the open door.

  


“I'm so sorry, Moondancer,” Rarity smiled. “I was hoping to have a word with you before you took off for the weekend.”

  


“I don't have anything I want to say to you,” Moondancer turned and started walking away. Rarity frowned and hurried to catch up to her. Moondancer spotted her out of the corner of her eye and sighed.

  


“I understand you want answers about Sunset, but I can't give them to you.”

  


“Perhaps not,” said Rarity. “But we won't know that unless we talk, won't we?”

Moondancer sighed again. “I don't like Sunset Shimmer. And I don't believe she's changed as much as everyone thinks.”

  


“And that justifies you sending threats involving baseball bats and her skull?” Rarity made sure to keep any accusation out of her voice. Sadly, it didn't work.

  


“I'm sure Pinkie Pie told you, I don't believe in violence. I just wanted her to understand that not everyone is buying her act.”

  


Moondancer came to stop as Rarity's hand shot out in front of her, holding the sheaf of emails. 

  


“I believe _that_ message was adequately received.” Rarity's expression was cold. Moondancer blinked and she began skimming the emails.

  


“Oh... Oh, dear. These... wow.” Moondancer's eyes widened. “This is just –“

  


“Disgusting? I agree,” Rarity finished. All the lightness had gone out of her voice. “So, with that in mind, would you care to account for your whereabouts the night Sunset was attacked?”

  


“I was at home,” Moondancer replied before she realized she had started talking. “I did my homework, surfed the internet for a while, and went to bed.”

  


Rarity quirked an eyebrow. “Not exactly vindication, you must admit.”

  


Moondancer sighed. “No. But it's the truth.”

  


The two of them exited the school and headed for the student parking lot. Rarity took the emails back from Moondancer and tried a different tack. “What about last night around 10:30?”

  


“Same thing, I'm afraid,” Moondancer answered. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her car keys. “I know this doesn't clear me, and it's really not all that helpful. But I didn't do anything to Sunset, or anyone else.”

  


Rarity sighed. “I wish I could believe you, Moondancer. Truly, I do.”

  


“I know,” Moondancer opened her car door and climbed inside. She started the car and rolled down the window. “I didn't realize so many people were doing the same thing I was. It was wrong. Very wrong.”

  


“Then the question is, what are you going to do about it?” Rarity said, folding her arms. Moondancer looked down at her steering wheel for a moment, then back up at Rarity.

  


“I don't know yet. But I'll think of something. I promise.”

  


Rarity nodded and stepped back, allowing Moondancer to back out of the parking space and leave the parking lot. She huffed in frustration, and pulled out her phone.

  


“Applejack? Yes, I talked to her. Not well, I'm afraid. No, no, she was very forthcoming, it's just her alibi is useless. She says she was at home when Sunset and Pepperdance were attacked.”

  


Rarity listened for a bit, and her eyes widened. “Oh, for the love of – No, I didn't. I should have asked her where she was while we were at the mall. It would have been much easier to confirm her alibi that way! I am such an idiot.”

  


Rarity trudged her way over to her car. “I guess we'll have to ask her about it on Monday. Unless we can find her somewhere around town this weekend. Oh! I'll ask Pinkie! She should know where she lives or works or something. Right, right. Sorry. Got a bit carried away. Yes, you and Fluttershy head for the hospital. I need to pick up Pinkie and go check on Rainbow Dash. Hopefully, we'll be there in a couple of hours. Right. Talk to you later.”

  


Rarity reached her car, got in, and started it. She drove around to the front of the school. As she pulled up to the curb, she saw Pinkie trudging down the sidewalk. The pink girls hair was limp and lifeless. 

  


_Definitely not a good sign._ Rarity thought. She drove forward and rolled down the passenger side window. 

  


“Pinkie!”

  


Pinkie looked towards the car. “Oh, hi, Rarity.”

  


“Did you forget we were supposed to go see Rainbow Dash after school?”

  


“Huh? Oh, yeah. Okay.”

  


Rarity stopped the car, and leaned over to open the passenger door. Pinkie slid inside and closed the door, before latching her seat belt. Rarity looked at her, concerned, before driving off campus.

  


“Pinkie, is something wrong? You haven't seemed like yourself today.”

  


“I'm fine,” Pinkie said. She had her chin resting on her hand and idly looked out the window at the passing scenery.

  


“You most certainly are not,” Rarity said firmly. “You and Rainbow had a terrible night last night and – “

  


“A terrible night?” Pinkie repeated. She turned to look at Rarity, her expresison dark. “A terrible _night?!”_

  


Rarity gulped, the harshness in Pinkie's voice taking her by surprise. Pinkie's voice became louder as she spoke.

  


“It was the worst night of my life! I had to stand there and watch as that – that – witch hurt Pepperdance and we couldn't do anything to stop her. Then, I had to see Rainbow Dash crumble into tears and hold her hurt friend, and there was nothing I could do to stop that! I couldn't do _anything_ , Rarity! Nothing but hold Rainbow while we waited for help. She was _crying_! Rainbow doesn't cry! And I couldn't do anything to help her! What good am I if I can't help my friends?”

  


Pinkie finally broke down and started bawling uncontrollably, burying her face in her hands. Rarity quickly pulled the car over and unbuckled her seat belt. She leaned over and hugged Pinkie Pie tightly. 

  


“Now, you listen to me, Pinkamena Diane Pie,” she began, pulling back so she could look at Pinkie's tear streaked face. “You did nothing wrong. Rainbow Dash did nothing wrong. You both did everything you could to save Pepperdance.”

  


“B-but it wasn't enough!” Pinkie's eyes began to tear up again. Rarity nodded solemnly.

  


“Yes, but we're also up against someone who doesn't play fair, and has absolutely no scruples. Frankly, while all three of you getting through last night unscathed would have been ideal, I certainly am glad both you and Rainbow managed to make it through. And, without you two, I might add, Pepperdance may be in a worse condition than she is right now.”

  


Rarity produced a handkerchief and wiped Pinkie's eyes. She leaned in close for another hug. “You may not have kept her from getting hurt, but you just might have prevented her from being killed. And that is nothing to be ashamed of.”

  


Pinkie sniffled and gave Rarity a small smile. Her hair began to slowly poof back up to its normal mass of unmanageable curls. She shot forward and gave Rarity a rib-crunching hug of her own.

  


“Thanks, Rarity.”

  


“You're welcome,” Rarity extricated herself from Pinkie embrace and refastened her seat belt. “Now, let's go help Rainbow Dash realize the same thing, shall we?”

  


“You betcha!” Pinkie sat back in her seat, her hair and herself back to normal. Rarity smiled and started the car.


End file.
